Jowar alternative crop for wheat in Rabi: Report

Hyderabad A new study has now revealed that there is an alternative to Wheat- the traditionally grown Sorghum or Jowar. Jowar is not only far more resilient to projected climate changes but also requires much less water.

The latest research paper titled, “Climate resilience of dry season cereals in India”, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports, examined the sensitivity of Wheat and Jowar yields to increases in temperature and compared water requirements under different scenarios.

The research revealed that Wheat is highly sensitive to increases in maximum daily temperature in its multiple stages of growth during the post-monsoon, dry winter season. In comparison, Jowar is able to handle increases in temperature with far less impact on yields. In addition, Wheat requires 1.4 times more water than Jowar owing to the extension of its growth cycle into summer.

With future climate projections, this study argues that without pragmatic changes in managing how Wheat is cultivated in India, it is likely that the yields are likely to decrease by five percent coupled with a significant increase in water footprint by 2040.