Organic Farming- Organic Farming In India - Future Of Organic Farming In India

 WHEAT 

FROM PRAKRITI ORGANICS

Wheat is the second most important staple crop after rice in India. It is the food for millions of people mostly around from North and North-Western Part of the country. The total area under the wheat cultivation is about 29.8 million hectare in the country. The production of wheat in the country has increased from 75.81 million metric tonnes in 2006-07 to 94.88 million metric tonnes in 2011-12. The major increase in the productivity of wheat has been observed in the state of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.  

Indian wheat is largely a soft/medium hard, medium protien, white bread wheat , somewhat similar to U.S hard white wheat. Wheat grown in central and western India is typically hard, with high protein and high gluten content. India also produce around 102 million tons of durum wheat, mostly in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Most Indian durum is not marketed separately due to segregation problem in the market yards. However some quantities are purchased by the private trade at a price premium, mainly for processing of higher value/branded products. The production and productivity of Wheat crop were quite low , when India became independent . 

Wheat is consumed by 65% of the population in India and is likely to increase further due to changes in food habits. Wheat is mostly consumed in the form of ‘chapati’ in our country for which bread wheat is cultivated in nearly 95 per cent of the cropped area. Durum wheat, which is most suitable for making macaroni, noodles, semolina and pasta products, occupies about 4 to 5% of the area, and is predominantly grown in Central and Peninsular parts of India.Various studies and researches show that wheat and wheat flour play an increasingly important role in the management of India's food economy.Wheat production is about 70 million tonnes per year in India and counts for approximately 12 per cent of world production.Being the second largest in population, it is also the second largest in wheat consumption after China, with a huge and growing wheat demand.Major wheat growing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Bihar. All of north is replenished with wheat cultivation.

Geological Factor

Wheat has a narrow geographic land base of production as compared to rice or pulses. Wheat is a temperate crop requiring low temperatures and most of the country is tropical. Indias wheat production increase is driven principally by yield growth and by shift in production from other crops to wheat and an increase in cropping intensity.Among the major factors that affect yield, fertilizer use appears to have less effect in recent years while expansion in irrigated and high yielding variety (HYV) area seem to play a more important role in raising yield. Depending on the population and income growth, poverty alleviation and the rate of urbanization, a demand-supply gap may open at a rate of about 1 to 2 per cent per year, which is equivalent to 0.7 to 1.4, million tonnes of wheat, growing larger over the years. Promoting rapid economic development and income growth in India which embraces the poor and particularly the rural poor, may lead to considerable growth in demand for wheat and thus an expansion in trade opportunities.

 Uses Of Wheat

Unsurprisingly, the main demand for wheat comes from human consumption. In fact, over two-thirds of wheat produced globally is used as food. It contains many vitamins and minerals which make it a staple food product. It’s used in premium bread making, general purpose bread making, biscuit and cake making, and as animal feed.

Although foodstuffs represent the main use of wheat, it also has several alternative uses. The gluten and starch present in wheat make it elastic and able to bind water. This makes wheat useful for products like:

• Paper – The starch from wheat is used to improve the strength of paper. The United States paper manufacturing industry uses over 5 billion pounds of starch every year 
• pharmaceuticals- Wheat gluten is used in the pharmaceuticals industry to create capsules
• Adhesives – The adhesive on the back of postage stamps is created with wheat starch
•  Soaps – Wheat germ, which contains lots of vitamin E, is commonly used in soaps and creams.

                    Wheat is also used to produce bio ethanol, but it plays a relatively small role in     this compared to crops like corn.

Wheat As Food

Raw wheat seeds are a food ingredient called whole wheat. They can be powdered into flour, germinated and dried creating malt, crushed and de-branned into cracked wheat, parboiled (or steamed), dried, crushed and de-branned into bulgur, or processed into semolina, pasta, or roux. They are a major ingredient in such foods as bread, breakfast cereals (examples include Wheaten, Cream of Wheat), roti (Indian bread), naan, porridge, crackers, biscuits, pancakes, cakes, and gravy. One hundred grams of hard red winter wheat contains about 12.6 grams of protein, 1.5 grams of total fat, 71 grams of carbohydrate (by difference), 12.2 grams of dietary fiber, and 3.2 mg of iron or 17 percent of the amount required daily.

One hundred grams of hard red spring wheat contains about 15.4 grams of protein, 1.9 grams of total fat, 68 grams of carbohydrate 12.2 grams of dietary fiber, and 3.6 mg of iron or 20 percent of the amount required daily.

Types Of Wheat 

• Khapli Wheat

Also known as Samba, Emmer or Diabetic wheat, India is the biggest cultivator of Khapli wheat in the world. It is rich in curative properties for treating cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. It can lower the lipid and glucose levels in the blood, making it great for people who are watchful of their weight or just health-conscious. Loaded with dietary fibres, chapati made with khapli wheat can keep you full for longer.

• Sarbati Wheat 

This wheat comes exclusively from the Sehore region in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The soil of the region is rich in potash and it receives an adequate amount of rain, cultivating a golden wheat grain that is richer in protein content when compared to other types of wheat. The grains feel heavier and have a nutty flavour, making soft and tasty chapatis that are also healthier.

• Common bread Wheat

Also known as just ‘bread wheat’, this is the most common variety of wheat produced not just in India, but worldwide. It contains a lot of proteins and is suitable for making puffy flatbreads (chapati). India has its own variety of common bread wheat that is known as Indian dwarf wheat owing to its round and small grains. It is lighter in colour when compared to similar grains grown in the United States and milder in flavour. However, there are no significant differences in their nutritional profiles.

• Dururm Wheat

India also produces Durum wheat, also known as pasta wheat or macaroni wheat. This is because the coarse grains of the wheat is ground to make semolina, which is then formed into pasta, noodles, macaroni etc. It contains a high amount of gluten and has a similar nutritional profile to common bread wheat. However, flour produced using durum wheat is not suitable for making bread as it doesn’t have enough starch to ferment and rise.

Organic, Whole wheat and Stone grind wheat is best for consumption 

Whole wheat is better than just simple wheat flour because it is a grain complete with bran, husk and endosperm. The husk and bran are removed in many types of wheat flours, stripping them of many nutrients, dietary fibres, minerals and vitamins. Organically produced whole wheat is cultivated as naturally as possible without exposure to harmful pesticides and fertilisers. Therefore, stone-ground and organic whole wheat atta, no matter the type of wheat is the best choice.