The Punjab government recently announced Rs 1,500 per acre as financial assistance to farmers opting for direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique in the coming paddy season.
What are concerns?
- Around 3,600 litres to 4,125 litres of water is required to grow one kg rice depending upon the paddy variety.
- Long duration varieties consume more water.
- In Punjab, 32 per cent area is under the long duration (around 158 days) paddy varieties, and the rest comes under paddy varieties that take 120 to 140 days to grow.
- On an average 3,900 to 4,000 litres water is required to grow one kg rice in the state.
- An average water required to produce one kg rice at 4,000 litres, so in one year – based on last year’s estimate – Punjab needed 5,4000 billion litres of water to produce 135 lakh tonnes rice.
What is DSR technique?
- Under the DSR (direct seeding of rice) technique, the seeds are sown in the field directly rather than transplanting seedlings.
- Water saving: DSR technique can help save 15% to 20% water. In some cases, water saving can reach 22% to 23%.
- With DSR,15-18 irrigation rounds are required against 25 to 27 irrigation rounds in traditional method.
- Less labour requirement: Direct seeded crops require less labor and tend to mature faster than transplanted crops.
- DSR can solve labour shortage problem because as like the traditional method it does not require a paddy nursery and transplantion of 30 days old paddy nursery into the main puddled field.
- With DSR, paddy seeds are sown directly with machine.
- Ground water recharge: DSR offers avenues for ground water recharge as it prevent the development of hard crust just beneath the plough layer due to puddled transplanting and it matures 7-10 days earlier than puddle transplanted crop, therefore giving more time for management of paddy straw.
(Source: IE)
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