Farmers and agriculture experts expect wheat arrivals in mandis to begin around Baisakhi, with prevailing weather conditions largely favourable for the crop.Baljit Singh, a wheat grower from Gurusar village, said the recent rainfall has helped improve grain quality. “Earlier, temperature was rising and the crop would have been close to harvest by now, and the grain size would have remained smaller. However, the rainfall proved beneficial for the wheat crop. If temperature stays normal in the coming days, harvesting will take place around Baisakhi. Some private weather forecast applications are showing rain in the next few days, but that is likely to remain normal,” he said.Similarly, Sukhjinder Singh, Agriculture Development Officer (Plant Protection), Muktsar, said there are no signs of any delay in the harvest. “The crop is in normal condition and is expected to reach mandis around Baisakhi. The average yield is also expected to remain normal. The current daytime temperature is nearing 30-32 degrees Celsius, which is ideal at this stage, while night temperatures remain in the optimum range of 12-15 degrees Celsius. The recent rainfall has also proved beneficial,” he said.Jagsir Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Muktsar, said the crop is generally in good condition, though some issues may arise during harvesting of fields that were flattened due to recent rains. “This is not confined to any specific area. Some patches have been reported in the Gidderbaha area and in fields where irrigation was carried out just before the rain,” he said.The officials said wheat has been sown over 2.16 lakh hectares in Muktsar district this season.The wheat procurement season officially begins on April 1. Around 132 lakh tonne wheat is expected to be procured this season in the state, and the minimum support price (MSP) has been fixed at Rs 2,585 per quintal.