FARMER GETS BUMBER CROP OF PADDY SOWN WITHOUT PUDDLING

KAHAN SINGH PANNU SPECIALLY VISITS FARMERS WHO ADOPTED THIS TECHNIQUE SUCCESSFULLY; THIS TECHNIQUE SAVES A LOT OF WATER & TIME: ATMA PROJECT DIRECTOR JASPREET SINGH KHERA Samrala (Ludhiana), October 23, 2018: A progressive farmer named Mr Rupinder Singh of village Chahlan has broken the myth where it is usually said that paddy cannot be sown without puddling (kaddu). By adopting this technique under the Atma Scheme, he saved a lot of time and water, besides even got bumper crop. Secretary (Agriculture) Punjab and Mission Director, Tandrust Punjab, Mr Kahan Singh Pannu today specially visited the farmer and congratulated him. Mr Rupinder Singh informed that by adopting this technique, time and water earlier used for puddling gets saved, and the crop gets ready atleast 10-15 days early and that is why the farmer gets extra time to prepare for the next crop. He said that in the coming days, he would sow paddy on 20-25 acres of land, besides would also motivate other farmers. Mr Daler Singh, retired District Agriculture Information Officer, claimed to have created this technique earlier. He said that he has been carrying out trials of this technique in his farm at Ladhowal. He said that in case of paddy sown without puddling, the paddy seedlings are transplanted at a distance of 6 to 8 inches from each other on each side of the bed and the distance between beds is 1 feet each. So, 16-22 seedlings can be planted in each square meter. He said that farmer gets number crop by transplanting 15-20 day old paddy seedlings. He informed that by adopting this technique, more than 40% water consumption can be reduced. Mr Jaspreet Singh Khera, Project Director (Atma), informed that under the Atma scheme, exhibition of PR121 and 126 varieties have been organised in Samrala block. Under this technique, water flooding is done only between the beds and for first 15 days, only the base of beds is kept wet, and for next 15 days, water is given every 4th or 5th day and later by keeping in mind the extent of rainfall, water is given after every 6-7 days. By doing this, cracks do not appear on the soil and the soil health improves due to the activity of earthworms beneath. They informed that by adopting this technique, the quality of paddy remains intact and it gets affected by insects/pests/diseases less. Mr Kahan Singh Pannu appreciated this new technique of sowing the paddy crop as it saves a lot of water. He assured that exhibitions of this technique would be organised across the state so that a large number of farmers can benefit by adopting it. Dr Navtej Singh Bains, Director Research, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, also inspected the exhibition of this technique and also held a detailed discussion with experts in this regard.