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Ageing wheat seeds
By Zafar Samdani
Every year, the federal government fixes a target for wheat
production, identifies acreage for cultivation and then sets
about creating favourable conditions for attaining the
target.
 Whether they succeed or fail is often beyond the managers
and they are not always to be blamed if the crop is short,
particularly if shortage of water and inclement weather
undermines a crop.
Factors like ensuring availability of fertilizers are within
the government's administrative reach. IRSA is responsible
for equitably distributing water among provinces and trying
to ensure that their irrigation requirements are met. But it
can only deliver available resources.
Extension wings of provincial authorities undertake the task
of guiding farmers about the best ways for producing a good
crop; they instruct farmers about removing unwanted growths
from fields, about the right time for applying fertilizers
and generally help farmers to extract the maximum from their
fields.
This year, the federal government assumed responsibility for
providing professional guidance to farmers and spent
approximately Rs70 million on a nation-wide publicity
campaign for this purpose. It is another question if the
campaign matched and augmented ground conditions.
For instance, farmers were instructed on the timing for the
application of fertilizers, not that the people whose
livelihood has come from tilling fields for more than a few
generations in many cases are not knowledgeable. Still, the
efforts are to be appreciated because new farmers with state
lands gifted to them at throwaway prices have invaded the
farming landscape.
They are rewarded for services rendered; only the
beneficiaries and the state know the nature and importance
of these services. Suffice it to say that the number of such
'farmers' is on the increase, much to the detriment of the
sector because, not satisfied with land only, they also want
state support and sponsorship for facilities like water on
priority, supply of urea on official price, loans, etc.
Their case is different. For average farmers, not all inputs
are efficiently managed. Fertilizer tends to become
expensive right when farmers need it most; it is also in
short supply at such junctures.
The current year has seen the phenomenon in play despite
high cost subsidized import of urea. There are two
possibilities of how this happened: mismanagement,
corruption.
One of the responsibilities of the state, at least an area
it is required to oversee, is supply of quality seed for all
crops; wheat is no different. Certified seed is starting
point for all crops.
The current wheat crop is widely, about 70 percent, grown
from Inqilab 91 (I-91). This has been so for some years and
the present crop is merely following the set course.
It is rated as the best seed and the farmer's preference for
it is understandable. The seed has given them excellent
crops year after year. It produces, under right conditions,
40-50 maunds per acre and even more if other contributory
factors are in place. Most growers view I-91 as a reliable
friend, one that does not let them down.
There are other seed varieties too but they are not to be
compared with I-91. Reports are that Bhakkar 2,000 is
favoured by many farmers because of an attributed capacity
for high yield but it is still way behind I-91. Some farmers
cultivate other seed varieties approved during the last half
a decade or so but they do so due to non-availability of
I-91 for one reason or another.
There however are apprehensions about the capacity of I-91
to continue producing consistently rewarding results.
Approved by Punjab Seed Council (PSC) in 1992-93, it has
been in harness for over a decade.
That is a long time for any seed variety; most seed reach
the point of superannuating in such a period. That I-91 has
served well for so long is a remarkable event. But the seed
cannot be of everlasting value; it is destined to perish
like the best of seed.
The strength of seed starts declining after some time and
experts fear this may be happening to I-91 too. PSC last
week banned the sowing of ten seed varieties of wheat
because they had lost their productive capacity and had also
become susceptible to disease and pest. It was the first
decision of this kind and a welcome one for wheat crop.
That I-91 still retains its strength in every respect has
been a major source of the wheat sector's productivity; the
crop's failure to reach the potential of the land is due to
factors other than seed and to some extent to due to
relatively low yield seed. The question is: how long would
I-91 sustain?
Practically every agricultural research organization of the
provinces and those of the federal government are engaged in
research on wheat and are conducting experiments in this
regard.
But they have not been able to produce a single variety
comparable with I-91. The products of their research are for
the record, not for the farmers to prosper and fields to
produce more.
That is a most regrettable situation because the size of the
crop would suddenly nosedive once I-91 loses any of its
productive attributes. Experts say that fields where some
inputs are short of the correct mix or times when weather
conditions are not ideally conducive for the crop, wheat
plants are giving in to rust. That may not be due to any
weakness of the sown variety but the possibility is not to
be dismissed off hand.
PSC also approved the cultivation of two cotton and paddy
varieties last week; both underwent extensive field trials
before they were considered fit for cultivation. This is
most certainly not the case of wheat, easily the most
important crop from the viewpoint of feeding the populace.
One comes across all varieties of rhetoric about enhancing
productivity of the agriculture sector but strange as that
may sound, there is never a reference to new varieties of
wheat. Are the authorities unaware of the importance of
research in the wheat sector or they are confident that I-91
would prove infallible?
Needless to emphasize, this aspect of wheat must be attended
to on priority basis, indeed on war footing. Funds should be
provided if research organizations are short of resources.
Some research set-ps that have produced quality seed for
other crops should be assigned the task with a time frame to
come up with results. Research is being conducted in this
area but that is obviously not enough: its results should be
on view as well. Provincial organizations must be directed
to produce results at top speed.
Courtesy: The DAWN
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