Punjab has sought the Centre’s assist to shift to shorter-duration paddy varieties, which can give farmers an extended window to clear crop residue and, in consequence, assist reduce an annual spell of lethal air pollution from stubble burning, an official conscious of the event mentioned.
A widely-grown rice selection is ‘Pusa-44’, which takes 150 days to mature. The Punjab authorities has mentioned it’s keen to “de-notify” Pusa-44 — infamous for its arduous stubble — if appropriate shorter-duration options with comparable yields and prices of cultivation are made obtainable to the state, mentioned the official, who took half in latest consultations between the Centre and state authorities.
“The Punjab authorities is in talks with Indian Agricultural Analysis Institute (IARI) and the Punjab Agricultural College to assist establish and develop shorter-duration paddy that’s appropriate for Punjab’s agro-climatic circumstances,” the official mentioned.
Farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, that are main paddy producers, set aflame paddy stalks round October to clear their fields for the subsequent crop. This burning releases tens of millions of tonnes of smoke, carbon dioxide saved in plant biomass, toxins and planet-warming gases within the environment. Some environmentalists consider this to be the deadliest spell of air pollution in all of South Asia, particularly engulfing Delhi and swathes of neighbouring areas.
To preserve groundwater, Punjab handed a legislation in 2009 – the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act – to ban rice planting earlier than a set date introduced by the federal government each season, in order that paddy is grown when monsoon arrives.
This pushed rice sowing from mid-Could to mid-June. The transfer had unintended penalties. It shifted paddy harvesting to October from September, leaving farmers with little or no time to sow the subsequent crop – wheat. Setting paddy stalks on hearth grew to become a fast and low-cost strategy to clear fields, leading to an intractable air pollution disaster.
Nevertheless, farmers will undertake shorter-duration paddy varieties provided that they’re economically viable. Pusa-44, a state developed rice selection, at the moment provides at the least 10-11 tonne yield per hectare and is fashionable for its strong productiveness.
“Farmers will undertake shorter length varieties if they’re as strong as Pusa-44, and our establishment is able to lengthen all crucial assist,” mentioned AK Singh, chief of the state-run IARI.