Met Office issues 10-day advisory for farmers

The Met Office has advised farmers of cotton crop areas to prepare their fields for incoming Rabi crops and complete sowing in time. The weather forecasting organisation through its 10-day farmers advisory issued on Monday also urged the farmers to cultivate winter vegetables on time so as to utilize the existing moisture fully to ensure crops production, saying that wheat cultivation is in progress in most of the irrigated areas.

"Farmers of irrigated areas should irrigate the crop as per requirement due to dry weather prevailing in most of the irrigated agricultural plains of the country," the advisory said, adding that normally first irrigation is given 20-25 days after sowing."

Pointing out that wheat cultivation has been completed in most of the barani areas of the country, the Met Office advised the farmers of barani areas to remove weeds from the fields, so that the present soil moisture may be fully utilised.

Farmers of irrigated plains of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also been advised to complete sowing of wheat crop before December 15 to receive maximum yield. "In case of late sowing, the recommended varieties should be cultivated to minimise the loss in yield." The weather pundits also urged the farmers to remove weeds to help their standing crops attain maximum energy from the field.

Elaborating, the advisory said that since weeds erode huge land energy scaling down yield every year, framers should start removing weeds by using some weed-killing substance or undertake this exercise manually after the crop completely covered the fields. Weather in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan is expected to remain mostly cold and dry till December 10, the Met office said, forecast expected light rainfall (with light snowfall over the hills) over few parts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from December 5.

It further stated that mainly cold and cloudy weather is expected in most parts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir. However, light to moderate rain (with light snowfall over the hills) is expected from December 5 in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2014