Sirsa witnesses rise in area under DSR

Anil Kakkar

Sirsa, June 17

The area under direct seeding of rice (DSR) is expected to increase compared to previous years in the block areas of Ellenabad, Rania and Sirsa in Sirsa district. Farmers, who practised DSR last year, were completely satisfied and they are now encouraging other growers to adopt the technique.

DSR is a rice planting technique, wherein seeds are sown directly into the soil using manual or mechanical methods. This technique eliminates the need to grow seedlings in a nursery and then transplant them to the field. If conditions are favourable for rice cultivation, DSR yields can be higher than the transplanted rice.

According to the growers, last year’s DSR yield was eight to 10 quintals per acre higher than the transplanted rice, prompting them to adopt the technique for all their fields this year. According to the statistics provided by Agricultural Department, rice has been sown on 2,90,000 acres in the district, with 77,000 acres using the DSR technique. Last year, rice was transplanted using the same method on 70,000 acres.

Vijay Kumar, a farmer, said rice required significantly more water than other crops, and the water was supplied from tubewells. Such extraction lowered the groundwater level, which had dropped from 40-50 ft a decade ago to over 150 feet now. The DSR technique can significantly conserve water.

Sumit Singh Virk, a farmer from Amritsar Kalan, said last year, some farmers had tried the DSR technique, bringing positive results and achieving higher yields than transplanted rice. This success has led to an increased interest in DSR among farmers.

Sukhdev Kamboj, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Sirsa, said DSR offered several benefits, including higher yields and lower water usage. Additionally, the government provided an incentive of Rs 4,000 per acre for using the technique, he added. Kamboj said approximately 77,000 acres in Sirsa, including the Rania, Ellenabad, and Kalanwali blocks, were using DSR, adding that the method was excellent but depended on soil conditions.

Technical Agriculture Officer (Ellenabad Block) Ram Chandra has reported a significant increase in the adoption of the method in the Ellenabad block compared to last year. So far, farmers have sown crops on 15,000 acres using DSR, which will be also used on additional 10,000 acres this year. This brings the estimated total to over 25,000 acres.

Consumes less water

DSR technique is essential to control the decreasing groundwater level. This method consumes less water and reduces per-acre production costs compared to the traditional transplantion of rice. It also saves labour costs. — Buta Singh, a farmer