Farm scientists for raising India wheat production to 100 mt

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Noted farm scientists, including the architect of India”s Green Revolution, have indicated that wheat production in the country can be ramped up to 100 million tonnes by 2015 through better soil and water management in the largely untapped Indo-Gangetic Plains.
Agriculture experts from across the country, including M S Swaminathan — who is credited with helping the country ramp up wheat output through the introduction of hybrid crop varieties — noted that the wheat-growing potential has almost reached the saturation point in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in the north-western plains.
In this regard, they emphasised at a national brainstorming workshop here last evening on “Prospect of Producing 100 million tonnes of Wheat by 2015” that tapping the potential in the north-eastern plains zone, comprising Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa, was key to raising wheat production from around 80 million tonnes at present to 100 million tonnes by 2015.
India, the second largest producer of wheat in the world after China, produced 80.71 million tonnes of wheat in 2009-10. Wheat production is projected at around 82 million tonnes in the current crop year.
“By better water and soil management in the Indo-Gangetic regions, the country can achieve greater production of wheat in the near future,” the Chief of the Karnal-based Directorate of Wheat Research, S S Singh, said at the national workshop.
“About 13.4 million tonnes of additional wheat can be achieved from technology targeting in rice fallows in Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh,” he added.
While Punjab and Haryana have a high wheat yield, it is lower in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. In this light, Swaminathan suggested, “Local agriculture department shall be allowed to draw plan suitable to distinct climate of an agro-climatic region for better results.”
He also stressed on improving storage capacity to cope with future growth in wheat production to minimise waste.
The scientists also emphasised on developing saline and heat-resistant wheat varieties to cope with climate change.
PTI SNS SSR ARV