No adverse effects of rains on wheat crop

LAHORE:No adverse effects of rains have been observed on wheat crop as yet but due to the recent spell, there has been a slight delay in the maturity and harvesting of wheat.

This was informed here Sunday in a meeting about wheat management which was chaired by Secretary Agriculture, Punjab Iftikhar Ali Sahoo. Addressing the meeting, Secretary Agriculture said that wheat harvesting and threshing report should be shared on a daily basis.

Apart from this, the record of production of wheat per acre should also be compiled and submitted. He said that the ongoing activities in the field for technical guidance of the farmers regarding harvesting, storage and delivery of wheat should be accelerated.

Farmers should be guided by keeping in view the weather forecast for the wheat harvest. Wheat advisory should be issued keeping in view the weather conditions.

Secretary Agriculture while giving directions to the officers concerned said that in South Punjab, guidance should be provided to farmers on advanced cotton production technology immediately after wheat harvest and monitoring should be expedited to ensure availability of quality agricultural inputs in the markets at fixed prices.

He said that in view of the importance of the ongoing campaign regarding cotton cultivation, the miscellaneous duties of all the staff of the Agriculture Department have been terminated.

The officers and field staff of the Agriculture Department should improve the field activities to guide the cotton farmers. Coordination with the local officials of the irrigation department should also be improved regarding the supply of water for cotton cultivation.

In the meeting, Special Secretary Agriculture Dr Shehanshah Faisal Azim, Director General Agriculture (Crop Reporting) Dr Abdul Qayyum, Consultant Agriculture Department Dr Anjum Ali and Director of Agricultural Information Punjab Naveed Asmat Kahloon and other officers participated while the Director General Agriculture Extension Dr Ishtiaq Hasan along with all the Divisional Directors of Agriculture Extension (South Punjab) participated through a video link.