India sows wheat in the winter months of October and November and harvests begin in March and April. The northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and the central state of Madhya Pradesh are the main regions where wheat is cultivated.

The wheat crop was progressing well and there had been no pest attack reports in any of the growing regions, Jag Shoran, director of the state-run Wheat Research Institute, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"Rains have been good in the past few days," he said from the institute's headquarters in Karnal in Haryana. "These rains are essential as they help flowering of the plants."