Frost on mustard crop in Hisar worries farmers

According to the data available at the office of deputy director agriculture, mustard is sown in over 2 lakh hectare area in Hisar, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh.

After continuous rain in the region for three days and night temperature recorded at 0.4°C on Friday, farmers in Hisar are worried after frost was seen on the mustard crop.

A farmer of Shikarpur village, Ramji Lal, who has sown mustard in over five acre of land said he saw a layer of ice (frost) on the stubble which was kept as fodder for cattle and also near the roots of mustard crop. “Mustard crop gets damaged due to frost on the roots and leafs,” he said.

According to the data available at the office of deputy director agriculture, mustard is sown in over 2 lakh hectare area in Hisar, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh.

Experts said agriculture land is wet as the farmers had watered their field only a few days before rain. There was a sudden dip in the night temperature due to which water drops on the mustard crop were frozen.

Sube Singh, a farmer of Surpura Kalan in Bhiwani district, said, “I have sown mustard crop on more than 20 acre of land. However, we are worried as Hisar is about 65km away and farmers there are already facing crop loss due to cold conditions and frost.”

Professor ML Khichar, head of department, agriculture meteorology at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) said, “The day temperature was recorded at 14.5°C on Friday whereas the minimum temperature was 0.4°C. However, the temperature few centimetres above the ground is minus 4.0°C and there are chances of crop frost during the night, which can damage the mustard crop.”