Punjab achieves only 58% of targeted 5-lakh acres under direct seeded rice
However, the official data shows that the area under the water conservation method of DSR is pegged at 2.90 lakh acres this kharif cycle which is the highest in the last four kharif sowing seasons.
DSR 'tar-wattar' (good soil moisture), a low-cost mechanical sowing technique to reduce water footprint in the cultivation of water-guzzling rice by 20%, was indigenously developed by scientists of Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
Despite being promoted for the last several years on the recommendation of the PAU, the area under DSR — a cultivation method in which paddy seeds are planted directly into the soil, while doing away with the traditional preparing of nurseries and then transplanting the saplings — has received less acceptance from the rice growers.
Joint director of the state agriculture department, Narinder Singh Benipal, said on Wednesday that the consistent drive by the department has yielded results, as this time the acreage improved impressively.
'The state government is offering a subsidy of ₹1,500 per acre to encourage farmers to adopt DSR. Final data of the total registrations would be ascertained on the last date of July 31. We are confident that more farmers will get associated with the PAU-approved technology in the coming seasons,' added Benipal.
Officials said that the state had set the target of 2.02 lakh hectares or 5 lakh acres under DSR in which Fazilka topped the tally by breaching one lakh acres, followed by 97,540 acres in Muktsar.
Fazilka chief agriculture officer (CAO) Rajinder Kumar Kamboj said that in 2024, a total of 59,000 acres were under DSR, which improved to 1.02 lakh acres this year.
The Punjab government has been pushing the technique as an alternative to the traditional method, as besides water conservation, the DSR also cuts the labour input cost.
During field trials, the DSR was done on 23,500 hectares or 58,000 acres in 2019 and the area under this technique jumped to 5.4 lakh hectares or 13.34 lakh acres in 2020.
In 2021, DSR acreage was recorded as the highest at 13.88 lakh acres and officials attribute the large area under the method in 2020 and 2021 to a labour shortage caused by Covid-19-induced lockdowns.
Officials admit that the hesitancy to adopt new technology and the lack of technical knowledge are to be blamed for farmers' reluctance to adopt it.
Data shows that post-pandemic lockdown, the area nosedived.
Officials said that though acreage under the DSR declined after 2021, the method is showing a gradual upward trend.
Area under DSR was recorded as 1.71 lakh acres in 2022, 1.73 lakh acres in 2023, 2.53 lakh acres in 2024 and it reached 2.90 lakh acres in 2025.
Bathinda CAO Jagdish Singh said DSR acreage in the district this year has improved by 40% to 14,000 acres.
'Last year, about 10,000 acres were under the DSR and our team remained engaged in removing doubts about this technology by organising regular awareness camps. Our field studies say that the growth and health of plants in the DSR fields are impressive. Regular drive will encourage farmers to get their field soil tested to ascertain suitability for DSR, and the method will gain popularity in the near future,' he added.
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