Among the top six major states, which account for about 90% of the national coverage under wheat, area in UP was down 2% at 94.13 lakh hours, Punjab was down 1% at 34.89 lakh hours and Bihar was down 13% at 19.92 lakh hours.
The slight decline in wheat acreage in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Bihar this year has been compensated by a significant increase of about 8 lakh hectares (LH) in Madhya Pradesh and about 4 lakh hectares (LH) in Rajasthan. All India coverage reached record high as area increased in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
However, the total production of wheat will depend on the yield in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat where the crop ripens slightly earlier and temperature in February, grain filling period, play an important role in the yield. Total wheat area in 2025-26 reached an all-time high of 334.17 lakh hectares, compared to 328.04 lakh hectares last year, an increase of 2 percent.
Among the top six major states, which account for about 90 per cent of the national coverage under wheat, area in UP is down 2 per cent at 94.13 lakh per hour, Punjab is down 1 per cent at 34.89 lakh per hour and Bihar is down 13 per cent at 19.92 lakh per hour. But, in Madhya Pradesh the area has increased by 11 percent to 85.73 lakh per hour, in Rajasthan by 12 percent to 35.49 lakh per hour and in Haryana by 3 percent to 24.48 lakh per hour.
Gujarat also up
In Gujarat too, farmers have increased the area under wheat by 3.3 percent to 13.24 lakh hectare, but in Maharashtra they have reduced the area by 3.3 percent to 11.49 lakh hectare.
Agricultural scientist SK Singh said, “Last year, the government had relaxed the minimum quality norms of wheat in all districts of Rajasthan and four districts of Madhya Pradesh to help farmers sell their produce at minimum support price (MSP) to notified agencies during procurement. These two states and Gujarat are more at risk from any temperature rise due to their locations.” However, he said that with the adoption of more climate-resilient varieties, the risk of low yields is decreasing every year.
In April 2025, the Food Ministry allowed procurement of wheat in Ujjain, Ratlam and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh to avoid rejection of a particular variety (Pusa Mangal) due to “lust loss” by giving up to 10 per cent discount in the same specifications without any price cut. “This relaxation will be a one-time measure to mitigate the distress of farmers and will not be used as a precedent in future,” it said.
norms relaxed
Similarly, in March 2025, the ministry relaxed the norms in all districts of Rajasthan – shriveled and broken grains up to 20 per cent and luster loss up to 10 per cent. Both damaged and slightly damaged wheat were allowed up to 6 per cent in Rajasthan due to the impact of early heat and unseasonal rain on the wheat crop.
For the week ending January 21, the minimum temperature (at night) was either normal or below normal in all wheat producing states, while the maximum temperature (in the day) was normal and did not exceed 28 degrees Celsius, except in a few districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka where it was 30 degrees.
The government has set a target of producing 119 million tonnes (mt) of wheat in 2025-26, which will be harvested from April. Production in 2024-25 was an all-time high of 117.54 million tonnes.
Published on January 23, 2026
