Lesson from wheat fields

With wheat stocks in government godowns, at 9.7 million tonnes on March 1, the lowest in seven years for this date, all eyes are on the crop about to be marketed . For now, a bumper harvest seems to be in the offing , at least in Punjab, Haryana, UP and Bihar. Unlike in 2022 and 2023, when the crop suffered yield losses due to temperature spikes and unseasonal heavy rains respectively during the final grain formation and filling stage, no such “ Ides of March ” weather events have been reported from this major wheat belt . March temperatures ruling near normal this time and three-fourths of the grain-filling completed augurs well for the crop across the Indo-Gangetic plains. The problem, if any, is with the wheat in central India — MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra — that has already been, or is close to being, harvested. And even there, it’s not March but November-December temperatures that may have played spoiler.It only highlights how susceptible wheat — and agriculture itself — has become to climate change. In this case, it isn’t just terminal heat stress , leading to Premature ripening and drying of the crop in its final growth phase. It is also about relatively warm temperatures at the time of sowing and initial vegetative growth period, resulting in fewer tillers being formed and premature flowering. Climate change, thus, manifests itself both in the early onset of summer and the delayed setting in of winter. If the 2021-22 wheat in northwest and north India was affected by the former , the crop this time in central India has apparently taken a hit from the latter . To the extent the lower yields from central India are offset by better-than-average production in the Indo-Gangetic plains, the country can still end up harvesting more wheat than in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Whether that is so will be known in a month’s time. Thankfully, global wheat prices are currently at their lowest in four years, making imports feasible . The government should enable it by doing away with the 40 per cent customs duty .From a medium- to long-term perspective , India has to invest more in breeding for climate change. The Green Revolution strategy essentially relied on expansion of irrigation and developing crop varieties responsive to high fertiliser application. Green Revolution 2.0’s focus must be on input use efficiency — producing more from the same or even less quantity of water, nutrients and energy — and building climate resilience through breeding of drought-resistant and heat-tolerant varieties. This would entail screening germplasm and identifying genes in plants responsible for the desirable traits .

ssc

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Custom duty (noun) – a tax imposed on imports and exports of goods

सीमा शुल्क

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Feasible (adjective) – Practical, workable, viable, achievable

संभव

Perspective (noun) – Viewpoint, standpoint, angle, outlook, approach

दृष्टिकोण

Onset (noun) – Beginning, start, commencement, initiation, inception

शुरुआत

Efficiency (noun) – Effectiveness, proficiency, productivity, competence, capability

कार्यक्षमता

Sowing (noun) – The act of planting seeds

बुवाई

Market (verb) – Sell, trade, deal in, offer for sale, distribute

बाजार में बेचना

Harvest (noun) – Crop, yield, produce, gathering, reaping
फसल

Be in the offing (phrase) – Imminent, upcoming, forthcoming, in the pipeline, on the horizon
निकट भविष्य में होना

Unlike (preposition) – Different from, dissimilar to, not like, unalike, contrasting with

के विपरीत

Yield (noun) – Production, produce, crop

पैदावार

Spike (noun) – Surge, increase, upsurge, upturn, escalation

वृद्धि

Ides of March (noun) – It is associated with misfortune and doom.

दुर्भाग्य और विनाश से जुड़ा हुआ।

Belt (noun) – Region, area, zone, district, territory

क्षेत्र

Rule (verb) – (of a price or a traded commodity with regard to its price) have a specified general level or strength.
रहना

Augur well (phrase) – Bode well, promise well, be a good sign, indicate a good outcome, forecast a good result

शुभ संकेत देना

Spoiler (noun) – A person or thing that ruins or spoils something

बाधा

Highlight (verb) – Emphasize, underline, spotlight, focus on, bring to the forefront

प्रमुखता से प्रदर्शित करना

Susceptible (adjective) – Vulnerable, prone, liable, at risk, sensitive
संवेदनशील

Terminal heat stress (noun) – A condition where plants are exposed to high temperatures towards the end of their growth cycle, leading to reduced yield
पौधों का अंतिम ताप तनाव

Lead (to) (verb) – Cause, result in, bring about, produce, give rise to

का कारण बनना

Premature (adjective) – Early, untimely, before time, ahead of time, premature
असमय

Ripening (noun) – The process of becoming ripe, maturing, developing, aging
पकने की प्रक्रिया

Vegetative growth (noun) – The growth of a plant that involves the development of its vegetative parts such as leaves and stems
वनस्पति विकास

Result in (phrasal verb) – Lead to, cause, bring about, produce, provoke
परिणाम होना

Tiller (noun) – A shoot or sprout from the base of a plant, especially a cereal plant
अंकुर

Manifest (verb) – Display, show, exhibit, demonstrate, reveal
प्रकट करना

Setting in (noun) – The beginning or start of something
शुरुआत

The former (noun) – Here it refers to ‘the early onset of summer’

Apparently (adverb) – Seemingly, evidently, it appears that, it seems that, as it appears
प्रतीत होता है

Take a hit (phrase) – Suffer a setback or loss
नुकसान उठाना

The latter (noun) – Here it refers to ‘the delayed setting in of winter’

To the extent (phrase) – To the degree, to the level, to the point, as far as, up to a point
जहाँ तक

Offset (verb) – Counterbalance, balance, counteract, compensate for, make up for
भरपाई करना

End up (phrasal verb) – Conclude, finish, culminate, result, come to an end
समाप्त होना

Do away with (phrasal verb) – Abolish, eliminate, remove, get rid of, put an end to
समाप्त करना

Breeding (noun) – The mating and production of offspring by animals, the development of new varieties of plants
प्रजनन

Rely (on) (verb) – Depend on, count on, bank on, trust, lean on
निर्भर होना

Irrigation (noun) – The supply of water to land or crops to help growth, typically by means of channels
सिंचाई

Resilience (noun) – Toughness, strength, sturdiness, robustness, hardiness
मजबूती

Drought-resistant (adjective) – Capable of withstanding a lack of water
सूखा प्रतिरोधी

Entail (verb) – Involve, require, necessitate, lead to, result in
आवश्यकता होना

Screen (verb) – Examine, test, evaluate, assess, check
जांच करना

Germplasm (noun) – The genetic material of a plant or animal, used in breeding and conservation

Gene (noun) – A unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring

Trait (noun) – Characteristic, attribute, feature, quality, property
विशेषता