Scientist pens song on stubble burning

Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ambala, October 10

Guru Prem Grover, subject matter specialist (soil and water management), at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in the district’s Tepla village has penned a song to motivate farmers to stop burning paddy stubble and educate them about the ill-effects of the practice.

The Haryanvi song “Poshak tatva ho jange khak, parali ne lagao na aag” has been sung by Hisar-based Manjeet Singh.

For the past two years, the KVK in Tepla has been encouraging farmers to sow wheat over paddy stubble instead of burning it.

Guru Prem said, “The challenge is to change the mindset of farmers. They are still stuck on the conventional methods of farming. So, the KVK decided to do something innovative so that farmers shun the practice. The song is being shared in WhatsApp groups.”

He further said, “The farmers are being advised to use Happy Seeders, chopper, mould board plough, mulcher machines and adopt the crop residue management technique. They are requested to sow wheat after mixing paddy residue in the soil, for which scientists have made some changes to the Happy Seeder (new-generation planters),” he said.

A KVK scientist said, “About 70 per cent of the fertiliser remains in the crop residue. Mixing the residue back into the soil decreases the requirement of fertiliser for the next crop. The cost of cultivation can be reduced by adopting new methods and it can save water by 20 to 25 per cent. This year, we have set a target to sow wheat over 1,000 hectares without removing the paddy residue.”