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Wheat plants growing fast foretelling bumper production


By BSS
Published : 14 Jan 2022 09:07 PM

Tender wheat plants are growing superbly  amid favorable climatic conditions predicting a bumper production of the  cereal crop in Rangpur agriculture region this Rabi season. 

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said farmers  have finally cultivated wheat on 18,280 hectares of land, only 520 hectares or 2.77 percent less against the fixed farming target on 18,800 hectares of  land. 

The DAE has fixed a target of producing 63,661 tonnes of wheat from 18,800 hectares of land for all five districts of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari in the region this season. 

"Wheat farming target marked a very little shortfall following crop diversification and farming of maize, potato and winter vegetables on more  lands," said Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Agriculturist Md. Mahbubur Rahman.

Farmers have finally cultivated wheat on 2,220 hectares in Rangpur, 3,185  hectares in Gaibandha, 7,300 hectares in Kurigram, 1,190 hectares in Lalmonirhat and 4,385 hectares of land in Nilphamari districts in the region.

"Farmers are expecting a bumper wheat production after sowing high quality  wheat seeds on their crop lands using conservation agriculture (CA)-based  technologies this season," he said. 

The growers have mostly cultivated high yielding wheat varieties like  'Bijoy', 'Pradip', 'Sotabdhi', BARI Gom25, BARI Gom26, BARI Gom27, BARI Gom28  and BARI Gom29 and the harvesting process will begin from April next.

Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid, who got the  Independence Medal 2018 (food security), expressed satisfaction over expanded cultivation of less irrigation water consuming cereal crop of wheat by farmers in the northern region. 

"Farmers are getting excellent wheat production in recent years following  cultivation of high yielding, stress-tolerant and high temperature- tolerant  wheat varieties adopting CA- based technologies," he said.

Adoption of CA-based strip tillage and bed planting methods in sowing  seeds using seeder machines increases wheat yield reducing soil erosion,  necessity for irrigation compared to full tillage alongside saving fuel and  labor costs. 

In the past, wheat production was being affected due to adverse impacts of  high temperature on its farming from flowering to ripening stages for late  sowing of seeds after harvesting late variety Aman rice and use of low  quality local seeds.

"However, farmers are sowing high quality, disease-stress-high temperature  tolerant wheat seeds timely using mechanized and low cost CA-based  technologies after harvesting short duration Aman rice to get bumper yield in  recent years," Dr. Mazid said.

Farmers Ashraful Alam, Mohsin Ali, Ariful Islam and  Mohibur Rahman of different villages in Rangpur sadar said they are expecting  a bumper wheat production as tender wheat plants growing superbly amid  favourable climatic conditions.