Dinajpur wheat growers eye good yield

Wheat growers and agriculturists are expecting good yield of the winter crop this season, despite higher than usual temperature during the growing period.

Around 4.89 lakh hectares of land has been brought under wheat farming across the country this year with the production target of over 15 lakh tonnes, said officials of Wheat Research Centre (WRC) at Nashipur village in Dinajpur Sadar upazila.

Last year, around 14 lakh tonnes of wheat were produced on 4.37 lakh hectares of land.

Earlier this season, a strong wind sweeping the northern region damaged wheat on nearly one percent of the total cultivation area.

Besides, five percent of the wheat land in five southern districts, including Meherpur and Jessore, has been affected with wheat blast, which has been detected in Bangladesh for the first time, said the researchers of WRC.

Farmers said rising temperature may have an adverse impact on wheat production.

However, this year farmers across the country planted different varieties of wheat, 40 per cent of it is Sotabdi seeds, which have the ability to sustain in high temperature, dry spell and salinity, and resist diseases.   

Dr Zahidul Islam Sarker, chief scientific officer of WRC in Dinajpur, said wheat plants produced by the centre can tolerate up to 35 degrees Celsius temperature during daytime and 20 degrees Celsius at night.

The farmers who sowed wheat in late January or early February can get over four tonnes of yield per hectare while those who sowed it late will get less, he said, adding that the agriculture department has formed a special surveillance team for rapid action if spread of disease is reported anywhere in the country.

The wheat produced in the country can meet nearly half of its annual demand, said Dr Paritosh Kumar Malaker, another scientist of the research centre. 

Despite slightly adverse weather, most farmers of Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Rangpur and Barisal are hopeful of good production.

Fazle Rabbi, a farmer of Roypur in Dinajpur Sadar upazila, said this year he increased wheat cultivation area as he got good profit from the crop last year.

The harvest will begin at the end of this month, said the WRC officials in Dinajpur.