At a time when thousands of farmers faced heavy lodging (flattening) of the wheat crop on around 4-lakh hectares due to heavy rain – which was coupled with hailstorms and cyclonic winds – in the state recently, some farmers were less affected by the harsh weather as their crops stood tall, literally, withstanding the onslaught of Nature’s fury, thanks to the “surface seeding technique” of wheat sowing recommended by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. Lodging is the permanent displacement of crop stems from their vertical position. When the crop falls over, it does not return to standing position. The PAU “surface seeding technique” stood farmer Sohan Singh in good stead as his wheat crop on 27 acres witnessed less lodging in the recent rain. Another farmer Harinder Singh, while sharing his experience, told The Indian Express that he started practising the new PAU technique three years ago starting with one acre. Looking at its benefits, he extended it to 10 acres last year and this year to all his 27 acres. And the result is – his crop is standing almost tall and straight despite the bad weather conditions. The farmers, who owned land close to the farms of Harinder Singh and Sohan Singh, who adopted the traditional wheat sowing system, which is mostly done after burning paddy stubble, and other methods have suffered moderate to heavy crop lodging. To showcase the benefit of the technique, the Department of Agronomy, PAU, and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Samrala, organised a field day on “Surface Seeding of Wheat Technology” at village Mutton, district Ludhiana, on Wednesday. More than 300 farmers participated in it. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, said surface seeding technology recommended by PAU was the cheapest, environment-friendly and revolutionary technique for paddy straw management and sowing of wheat. He called upon the farmers to adopt this simple technique, as apart from effective management of residue, the continuous in-situ residue retention improved soil health and enhanced crop productivity also. Surface seeding was helpful for all types of farmers, especially those who cannot afford large machinery, and it has the potential to halt the burning of paddy straw, he added. Dr A S Dhatt, Director of Research, PAU, told, “The university has designed an attachment which fits a combine harvester by which the paddy harvest and surface seeding of wheat are done simultaneously. The attachment fits on the cutter-cum-spreader and does surface seeding of wheat and cutting of paddy straw simultaneously.” Dr G S Buttar, Director of Extension Education, PAU, said the new technology is the easiest and most practical way to manage paddy straw and that the crop sown through this method has been in excellent conditions throughout the state. Dr Pervinder Sheoran, Director, ICAR-ATARI, while appreciating the PAU technology, promised to extend it on a big scale to benefit the farmers. Farmer Harinder Singh said that he has also sown one acre of mustard through surface seeding this year and the crop has been in excellent condition. The farmer said that he was not using any herbicide in surface seeding fields as weed infestation was very low. The surface seeding provided one quintal higher wheat grain yield per acre and saved one irrigation as compared to conventional sowing methods, he added. Meanwhile, after getting impressed by these farmers, the other farmers present during the field day also evinced keen interest in two surface seeding innovations – A combine harvester with attachment, and PAU Surface Seeder, designed and developed by PAU. How does it work? Combine harvester, which harvests paddy, and an attachment with it carries wheat seed and fertiliser and uniformly broadcasts wheat seed and basal fertiliser at the time of paddy harvest. It is followed by a single operation of cutter-cum-spreader (at 3-4 inches above the surface), and the application of irrigation. The seed and fertiliser are broadcast manually after paddy harvest, followed by the single operation of cutter-cum-spreader and irrigation. And the last method after paddy harvesting – a box carrying wheat seed and fertiliser can be fitted ahead of the cutter-cum-spreader, which saves and spread straw, for broadcasting the seed and fertilisers. It costs Rs 650/acre only – for paddy straw management and wheat sowing and three to four times less than the conventional methods.
