Excessive weeds a major concern in direct-seeded rice

By Nitish Sharma

While the Agriculture Department has been aiming to shift paddy farmers to direct-seeded rice (DSR) techniques from the traditional transplantation methods, excessive weeds and lower yield continue to be a concern for the farmers and the department officials.

The technique involves the DSR rather than the conventional transplantation method. In view of the depleting water table, the DSR is considered to be a better technique. For Kurukshetra, the Agriculture Department has set a target of 22,000-acre under the DSR for the season. Even last year, a target of 22,000-acre was given, but only 5,969-acre was achieved because of the crop loss due to floods. From May 20 to June 15 is the optimum time for the DSR to get optimum yield. The farmers get an incentive of Rs 4,000 per acre for opting the DSR technique through direct benefit transfer.

Kuldeep Singh, a paddy farmer, said, “Excessive weed is the major concern in DSR and it affects the yield. If the yield is higher, the farmers will adopt the technique, but if there is any drop in the yield, the farmers will not adopt it. Intensive planning and scientific methods are required in this technique.”

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) spokesman Prince Waraich said, “It requires lesser use of water, resources and labour and is considered a better technique in view of the depleting water table. The farmers are also worried about the depleting groundwater, but the drop of two-four quintal per acre in DSR compared to the traditional transplantation method, discourage the farmers. Besides this, the farmers have been facing continuous losses and they don’t want to take chances with their crop in terms of the yield by leaving the traditional methods.”

The Subdivisional Officer, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Jitender Mehta, said, “The farmers have been approaching the department inquiring about the DSR scheme for this season and it shows that the DSR is getting popular gradually. The issue of weeds can be managed through weed management. Several seeds manufacturing companies are working in this direction and have also launched their packages with complete guidelines that the farmers can follow to get better results. The department officials are working in the field to help the farmers in adopting DSR. We are hopeful the farmers will adopt the newer techniques and the targets will be achieved.”

This article has been republished from The Tribune.