Sultanpur Lodhi farmers take to DSR sowing of paddy

Area under paddy sown using the technology goes up to nearly 50% of the area under cultivation of the crop this season

Kapurthala Farmers in the sub-division of Sultanpur Lodhi in the district have planted around 50% of the area under paddy using the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) technology. Of 34,000 hectare under paddy, 16,000 hectare has used this technology. This is a major increase over last year, when the area under DSR was negligible (just 90 hectare). Using this technology that involves fertilising and planting directly into the soil, using a machine, the farmer can cut down on cultivation cost in terms of labour and water.

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Farmers, however, need to be extreme vigilant against weeds when they grow this variety, said Sultanpur Lodhi agriculture development officer, Jaspal Singh Dhanju.

“Farmers of this region are enterprising. This year, they have gone in for DSR technology, and that too after modifying the zero till drill, mainly used for wheat sowing,” Dhanju added.

Baldev Singh from Talwandi Chaudriyan village said he had gone in for DSR in 450 acre. Another farmer Harman Singh from Nurowal village said he had used the technology in entire land holding. Farmers Ajaypal Singh and Yuvraj Singh from Sarai Jattan village, who own the machine for DSR sowing of paddy, said the technique had gained popularity as they had sown over 650 acre on rental basis.