Context

India has set up a panel of officials to assess the impact of rising temperatures on the wheat crop, as the weather office warned that above normal temperatures would prevail in key producing states.

About

About the Committee:

• India's agriculture commissioner will head the committee, and officials from the country's key wheat growing states and government scientists will also be on the panel.

India, the world's second biggest wheat producer. Earlier this month its production was likely to rise 4.1% to a record 112.2 million tonnes. India is also the world's second-biggest consumer of wheat.

Important facts about the Crop:

• Wheat is the main cereal crop in India. In recent years, the major increase in the productivity of wheat has been observed in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
• Climatic requirement: Tropical and sub-tropical zones, temperate zone and the cold tracts (far north)
• Soil:Soils with a clay loam or loam texture, good structure and moderate water holding capacity are ideal for wheat cultivation.

Indian Wheat Growing Zones:

The entire wheat growing areas of the country has been categorized into 6 major zones as follows

Zones	States/Regions Covered
Northern Hill Zone(NHZ)	Hilly areas of J&K( except Jammu, Kathua and Samba districts), Himachal Pradesh ( except Una&Paonta valley),Uttarakhand(excluding Tarai region) & Sikkim
North Western Plains Zone(NWPZ)	Punjab,Haryana,Western UP(except Jhansi Div),Rajasthan (excluding Kota & Udaipur div),Delhi, Tarai region of Uttarakhand, Una&Paonta valley of HP, Jammu,Samba &Kathua districts of J&K and Chandigarh.
North Eastern Plains Zone(NEPZ)	Eastern UP(28 dist),Bihar,Jharkhand,WestBengal,Assam, Odisha and other NE states (except Sikkim)
Central Zone	MP,Gujarat,Chattisgarh,Kota& Udaipur Div of Rajasthan & Jhansi Div of UP.
Peninsular Zone	Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu(except Nilgiris&Palani Hills),Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh
Southern Hill Zone(SHZ)	Nilgiris&Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu

Why higher temperature is a concern for the crop?

• The optimum temperature range for ideal germination of wheat seed is 20-25 C though the seeds can germinate in the temperature range 3.5 to 35 c.
• Areas with a warm and damp climate are not suited for wheat growing.
• This higher day temperature might lead to adverse effects on wheat approaching the reproductive growth period, which is sensitive to temperature. 
  • High temperature during flowering and maturing periods leads to loss in yield.
  • The country grows only one wheat crop in a year, with planting in October and November, and harvesting from March.