Wheat is the main cereal crop in India. The total area under the crop is about 31.3 million hectares in the country. The production of wheat in the country has increased significantly from 75.81 million MT in 2006-07 to an all-time record high of 95.8 million tonnes in 2013-14. The major increase in the productivity of wheat has been observed in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Higher area coverage is reported from Madhya Pradesh in recent years.
Syngenta is one of the leading players in Wheat crop in India. We endeavor to solve the farmers problems by bringing new technologies and combining them with the right agronomy advice for improving productivity and ROI. Wheat is crucial to India’s food security and as a responsible player we are working with farmers to increase productivity. We have devised geography specific programs addressing farmer pain- points to achieve targeted yields.
CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) in India and Syngenta entered into a MoU to work together for the benefit of farmers, and have been working together to develop multiple projects focused on wheat research activities. These are aimed at increasing cereal productivity by accelerating adoption of new genotypes, improved seed systems and improved crop management technologies including conservation agriculture.
Wheat Project: Syngenta and PAU have successfully completed 1st season Wheat Integrated Trials undertaken amongst 75 farmers in 15 villages of two key wheat growing districts of Punjab- Ludhiana and Gurdaspur. The wheat plots were grown as per Integrated Crop Solution approach. An important component of the project was to educate growers about right agronomic practices such as selection of variety, importance of certified seeds, seed rate, plant to plant and row to row distance, method of sowing, water management at critical stages, nutrition management, timely identification of pests, preventive use of crop protection products and use of correct spray protocols. By using PAU and Syngenta’s advice, growers got an enhanced output of more than 20% which led to an increased annual ROI and made a positive impact on the lives of the farmers.
Herbicide Application Technology: The project demonstrated the use of the new herbicide Axial in the control of Phalaris minor in wheat. The aim is to popularize herbicide technology spraying techniques and to enhance the productivity of Rice-Wheat cropping system. It has resulted in average yield increase of 13.6 per cent. We are extending the project for a full crop program including Phalaris resistance management, Yellow Stripe Rust and Powdery Mildew control. These projects are in line with Syngenta’s Global ICS Strategy and will benefit the growers offering a complete crop solution.
Success Stories
Wheat protocol makes grower's life stress-free:
Forty two year old Bhupinder Singh and his wife Balbir Kaur are Wheat farmers from village Kular in Ludhiana District, Punjab. Users of Syngenta's products for past many years, Bhupinder and Balbir are progressive growers who believe that applying technology at the right time in the field will help enhance crop yields.
Their open-minded approach led them to adopt Syngenta's stage-wise solution in wheat last year. The crop was sown using Syngenta's Dividend, seed care technology. For effective Phalaris control, Axial was applied followed by two rounds of Tilt to protect crop from Yellow Stripe Rust and get quality, shining grains. The combined Wheat protocol together with right agronomic advise helped them obtain superior quality produce, 5 quintal/ha more yield and an additional net income of Rs. 6,600/ha over regular farmer practice. Not only that, his constant association with Syngenta personnel helped him learn about techniques like laser leveling, fertilization on the basis of soil testing, application technology, preventive spray benefits etc.The integrated approach for Wheat farming has made Bhupinder's life stress free and also freed up his time to pursue activities he loves like articipating in Kabbadi tournaments.