At 27.29 lakh hectares, Punjab touches 86% of expected paddy sowing, Ludhiana tops charts

According to data from the Punjab Agriculture Department, this season, Ludhiana district leads the charts with the highest paddy sown area of 2.21 lakh hectares, including 1,381 hectares using DSR techniques. Sangrur follows second with 2.05 lakh hectares, including 512 hectares under DSR.

While Patiala has completed sowing on 2.0 lakh hectares, including 1,400 hectares under DSR, Muktsar Sahib has completed sowing on 1.79 lakh hectares, including 17,962 hectares under DSR. Bathinda has completed sowing on 1.65 lakh hectare, including 4,500 hectare under DSR, followed by Amritsar that has completed sowing on 1.59 lakh hectare, including 1,844 hectare under DSR, Ferozepur that has completed sowing on 1.57 lakh hectare, including 3,400 hectare under DSR. Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur has completed sowing on 1.52 lakh hectare and 1.51 lakh hectare, including 875 hectare and 936 hectare under DSR, respectively. Moga has completed sowing on 1.50 lakh hectares, including 642 hectares under DSR.

Jalandhar has completed sowing on 1.42 lakh hectare, including 418 hectare under DSR, followed by Mansa that has completed sowing on 1.10 lakh hectare, including 1519 hectare under DSR and Fazilka that has completed sowing on 1.03 lakh hectare, including 17,967 hectare under DSR.

Sources in the agriculture department said that paddy sowing has almost been completed in the state, and now sowing of Basmati is ongoing. Basmati rice has a shorter duration compared to paddy, approximately 25 to 30 days less, which is why its sowing follows paddy sowing. It is expected that the area under Basmati will increase this year, as last year 4.95 lakh hectares were dedicated to Basmati, while 26.72 lakh hectares were used for paddy crop of the total 31.67 lakh hectare under rice cultivation.

Sources in the Agriculture department said that Punjab is expected to complete sowing in the next 10 days. Meanwhile, to deal with the dwarfing disease, which had affected paddy crop in the 2022 season, Satbir Gosal, Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, said that a webinar on paddy dwarfing at the campus was organised in which about 100 scientists from India as well as abroad took part. The international webinar was organised in collaboration with International Rice Research Institute, Philippines.

Last year, reports of a mysterious dwarfing disease started to pour in from rice-growing regions of Punjab and Haryana during the kharif 2022 season. Caused by Southern Rice Black Streaked Dwarf Virus (SRBSDV), Punjab alone witnessed its impact on approximately 34,000 hectares. Owing to this disease, plants do not grow beyond a certain height and then they die.

Originating in China, the disease spread to Vietnam, Japan, and beyond, carried by the White Backed Planthopper (WBPH) insect. From the Indian perspective, there are many researchable points such as the origin and spread of this disease as well as survival during off-season. Gosal said that this rice problem necessitates a comprehensive approach from biological, agronomic, and ecological viewpoints. He also advocated the integration of modern tools like AI (Artificial Intelligence) for accurate forecasts and diagnosis of such diseases. In the webinar intensifying field surveys and extension services to farmers regarding the management of it were also suggested.