Wheat: Higher crop yield to boost production

Target of 25m tons expected to be achieved this year.

FAISALABAD:

The target of 19 million tons of wheat in the Punjab is likely to be surpassed due to high-yield wheat varieties developed by Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), according to a source in the institute.

The source also said that Punjab had witnessed a 4.9 per cent increase in wheat output, and that this year would have record per acre yield, approximately 8-10 maunds more than previous year’s production, adding that no grower had wheat production less than average of 40 maunds per acre in Punjab this year.

According to AARI data, Punjab produced about 21.6 million tons of wheat this year, while requirements stood at 20 million tons, catering to domestic needs at the national level.

The source pointed out that Inqilab variety, developed by AARI, played a major role in increasing wheat production and it was expected that the national wheat production target of 25 million tons will also be achieved this year.

According to the source, the country had witnessed a seven folds increase in wheat production, 13 folds in rice production, 12 folds in cotton, eight folds in sugarcane, in comparison to production of 1947 – not to mention production increases in other produce.

He further added that more than forty varieties of crops developed in AARI had been approved during the last two years, among them, there were seven varieties of fodder, six of vegetables, five of wheat and three of cotton.

The source said that sugarcane developed in the institute had increased production by 19.7 per cent this year, compared to sugar cane production a year earlier.

While, cotton crops witnessed 1.6 per cent increase, in spite of this, crops were sown on an area less than 9.7 per cent than previous year’s.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2011.