Ludhiana: Paddy sown in over 90 percent target area, says agri dept
'90-92% of the area which was expected to go under paddy cultivation has been covered successfully so far in just over a month of transplantation,' said chief agricultural officer Gurdeep Singh.
The remaining 10 percent area or so hasn't been covered yet as it had standing crops like summer maize or moong. It is only after these are harvested that sowing will begin on this chunk of land.
'Some farmers go for summer maize and moong to supplement their income in the interim between the Rabi and Kharif crops. These will go into harvesting in around 10 days from now, then this remaining part will also be sowed with paddy,' he added.
Since the remaining land will be sowed late compared to the rest, the farmers will go for short duration varieties like the PR 126 to ensure that the crop matures in time before the land needs to be prepared for Rabi crop.
The agriculture department expects around 2.58 lakh hectares of area to be cultivated this Kharif season.
This Kharif season the state government divided the state into three zones to effectively facilitate farmers in paddy transplantation. It begins on June 1 for Zone 1, June 5 for Zone 2, and June 9 for Zone 3, which includes Ludhiana.
The district has this month, so far, seen 189.3 mm rain against a normal of 130.4 mm. This rainfall, according to the paddy expert at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here, Buta Singh Dhillion, said it would have a very good impact on the paddy transplanted so far.
First, he said that the transplantation shock, the effect of uprooting from one field and then replanting in another field, goes down with ample rain and low temperature, which adds to the yield.
Second, more rain water in the early days builds quality in the plant, which also adds to the yield except providing relief to depleting ground water.
Third, the labour becomes more productive and efficient with fall in day-time temperatures.
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