Punjab: Sowing maize as paddy replacement
Manav Mander
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, August 11
The intensive input-based cultivation, specifically of paddy has raised major concerns for sustainable agriculture. The groundwater resource has depleted alarmingly, the burning of paddy straw has led to environmental and health hazards and physical and microbial health of soil has been adversely affected. In this situation, crop diversification is the top-most priority. Maize is one the best options to replace paddy. Owing to the manifold increase in its demand, location of distillers grains in Punjab, government’s ambitious programme on Ethanol Blended with Petrol (EBP) and the Union Government’s decision to procure maize at the minimum support price (MSP), the crop can easily replace paddy.
The Government of India has started an ambitious programme on Ethanol Blended with Petrol (EBP) and maize is the preferred crop for bioethanol production as it is available throughout the year. It will also help reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, mitigating air pollution and saving huge foreign exchange.
“Maize is available throughout the year and has high productivity potential, lesser water requirement and no issues of residue management. Moreover, its use for ethanol production is not expected to have any effect on food security,” said Dr Surinder Sandhu, Principal Maize Breeder, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
In the fiscal year 2024-25, the government has targeted production of 250 crore litres of ethanol from maize, which will necessitate 66 lakh tons of maize grains (100 kg maize produces 35-42 litres of bioethanol). The Union Government has set a target to raise maize production by 100 lakh tonnes over the next five years to meet the growing demand for ethanol production, besides higher demand from poultry, dairy and starch industry.
“Punjab, a traditionally maize growing state, has the potential to seize this new opportunity and thereby replace paddy and move towards the much-needed crop diversification. During pre-green revolution era, maize and cotton were the major Kharif crops in the state,” added Dr Sandhu.
He said that procurement at the MSP (Rs 2,225 per quintal) will stop distress sales by farmers and will promote the expansion of maize cultivation under better management in fertile land, which will enable the high yielding hybrids to express their potential productivity.
In Punjab, the ethanol production capacity at present is about is 2,260 kilolitres per day (KLD), which is expected to rise to 3,860 KLD. With this capacity, distilleries alone would need about 37 lakh tons of maize, keeping aside the need for poultry, dairy and starch.
In last five years, PAU has released six Kharif maize hybrids namely, PMH 14, PMH 13, PMH 11, and Private sector hybrid ADV 9293, DKC 9144 and Bioseed 9788 with the average grain yield of 24-25 quintal per acre.
