The state governments across India have been trying to promote Paddy direct seeding since last decade , but could not convert more than 2 lakh acres Pan India . The thrust was to save the water for other crops and keep the water level up .
Due to labor migration from Punjab and Haryana to Bihar and UP has caused 4 fold rise in paddy transplanting charges . Now per acre cost of paddy transplanting is 7000 rupees per acre as per as stated by a north Indian farmer over social media.
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Seeing the current trends and farmer sentiments up to 10% area from north Indian states can come under DSR paddy cultivation .
As per IIT K agro advisory this is how the DSR paddy is cultivated
DIRECT SEEDING
Direct seeding in watered field
- Land preparation – The land is prepared wet.
- Puddling – several ploughing and laddering in standing water. The land may be impounded with rain or irrigated water.
- Incorporation of weeds into the soil and allowed to decompose for almost 3 weeks.
- The mud in the field is then leveled for seeding.
- Drainout excess water
- Pre-germinated seed with radicle length of 1 to 2 mm long is broadcast by hand
- Seed rate – 90 to 100 kg/ha.
Disadvantages:
(a) Seeds are exposed to rat and bird attacks
(b) Seeds are carried or washed away during heavy rains resulting in poor seedling stand.
Use of Drum seeder
- Requires less number of labourers
- Suitable to sow the pre-germinated paddy seeds directly in wetland.
- Before using this seeder, the land has to be ploughed, puddle and levelled properly and left for 2 days. Immediate use of this seeder after puddling is discouraged since pulling the seeder will be difficult.
| Paddy drum seeder |
Advantages of direct seeding are:
- Lower labour cost
- Seed bed preparation, care of seedlings in the seed bed and pulling of seedling as required in transplanting operations can be eliminated
- Crop matures 7 to 10 days – earlier than transplanted crop this may be adjusted for multiple cropping.
Disadvantages of direct seeding are:
- After sowing, the seeds are exposed in the field – bird or rat attack which may cause poor establishment.
- In the broadcast fields, the crop seedlings and the weeds start growing together and the more hardy weeds arrest the growth of crops markedly. Weeding is a great troublesome and costly affair in direct seeding particularly in broadcast crop.
- Direct seeded crop has a greater tendency to lodge than the transplanted one as the root anchorage and development become poor in direct seeded crop.