Area under basmati to increase in district

Amritsar, April 10

The district Health Department has decided to increase the area under basmati varieties to 1.30 lakh hectares this season from the 1.08 lakh hectares last year. A total of 1.80 lakh hectares of area is expected to come under paddy varieties.

The purpose of increasing the area under basmati is to help conserve water as basmati varieties are transplanted late. By the time, the transplantation of basmati varieties commences, the monsoon usually arrives which decreases the burden on ground reserve.

Chief Agriculture Officer Jatinder Singh Gill said in the crop diversification plan, the government had planned to promote the district as basmati belt. Farmers would be made available quality seeds, fertilisers and chemicals so that they could produce export quality basmati, said the official.

The farmers would also be trained in seed treatment techniques and other modern farm practices associated with basmati crop, he added. Gill also appealed to the farmers to not burn wheat stubbles in fields after harvesting the crop as after decomposition it would act as manure for the next crop.

Agriculture experts stated that apart from fetching a remunerative price for basmati crop, farmers could also help conserve ground water as it was sown late. “A large number of basmati varieties are sown after the transplantation of paddy varieties is over. It is the time when the monsoon has already reached the region. Moreover, the crop residue of basmati varieties can also be used as dry fodder for animals,” said the Chief Agriculture Officer.

The purpose

The purpose of increasing the area under basmati is to help conserve water as basmati varieties are transplanted late. By the time, the transplantation of basmati varieties commences, the monsoon usually arrives which decreases the burden on ground reserve.