Paddy transplantation began in Ludhiana on Monday with the agriculture department expecting around 2.58 lakh hectares of area to be cultivated this Kharif season.
This Kharif season the state government divided the state into three zones to effectively facilitate farmers in paddy transplantation. It begins on June 1 for Zone 1, June 5 for Zone 2, and June 9 June for Zone 3. The process is expected to continue for over a month.
“Last year around 2.58 lakh hectare area was cultivated with paddy and basmati. This time, we are expecting it to stay near that only,” said chief agricultural officer Gurdeep Singh. “It only started today. This will go on for well over a month,” he added.
While the state government has been calling for diversification to protect the depleted water table, the only alternative for farmers in Ludhiana is maize, which is not expected to register any significant increase in the area under cultivation. As per the agriculture department last year, around 5,000 – 6,000-hectare area was recorded under maize cultivation, which is not expecting any change this Kharif season.
However, the agriculture department is hopeful that the ban on water guzzling PUSA 44 variety, which made up 15 percent of the area under paddy cultivation last year, will bring relief to the burdened water table.
“This year, the government banned PUSA 44, and we ensured that the seeds for the variety weren’t sold in the district. That should also bring some relief,” added Gurdeep Singh. PUSA 44, besides consuming more water, also takes more time to mature thus affecting the timely sowing of wheat.
© Copyright 2023 The SSResource Media.
All rights reserved.