Efforts to popularise DSR on but it faces many challenges
A lot of efforts are being made to popularise the Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) technology but the road to it is not easy and full of challenges. The technology faces various issues, which include weed infestation, potential yield reductions, higher seed requirements, machinery availability and high-input costs.
“One of the major constraints in the success of the DSR technology is weeds and they pose to be more problematic in it than in puddled transplanting. In the absence of effective weed control options, yield losses are greater in the DSR than in the transplanted rice. Weed management in the DSR is more challenging than in transplanted rice as the initial size difference between rice and weeds is small. Some weed-control methods such as flooding are less effective in the DSR as weeds can grow quickly in initial stages,” says farmer Bhagwant Singh from Maachiwara.
Another farmer, Paramjeet Singh, from Ghulal village, said the input costs increase while using the DSR technology. The seed requirement for the DSR was generally higher as compared to transplanted rice as some seeds might not germinate or be consumed by pests, reducing the overall growth of plants.
Raj Kumar and Gurpreet Kaur from the Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), said: “Water table in the state is depleting and DSR is one such technology that has water saving potential. Its cultivation is suitable in medium to heavy textured soils but not in light textured soils due to severe iron deficiency and lower crop yields”.
They said the field should be properly levelled by using the laser technology to improve the irrigation water use efficiency and seed germination. In the DSR, the cultivation of short and medium duration varieties is best suitable as these mature early and also produce less crop residue. Early maturing varieties provide a longer window after paddy harvest and farmers get sufficient time to manage crop residue. The proper sowing time is first fortnight of June for non-basmati varieties and second fortnight for basmati varieties.
