Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), a water-saving method of paddy cultivation, is witnessing growing acceptance among farmers in Karnal district, with nearly 19,000 acres registered under the scheme so far this season against around 2,500 acres verified during the corresponding period last year.
The Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department has set a target of bringing 30,000 acres under DSR this season. Agriculture experts attribute the growing popularity of the technique to its ability to conserve water, reduce labour costs and promote sustainable farming.
According to department data, paddy is being cultivated over around 4.5 lakh acres in Karnal this year, compared to around 4.6 lakh acres last year. Of the total area, nearly 40% is under basmati varieties and the remaining 60% under non-basmati category.
“The response from farmers is encouraging this year. Against a target of 30,000 acres under DSR, so far, around 19,000 acres have been registered. Last year, against the same target of 30,000 acres, around 12,000 acres were registered. After physical verification, only about 2,500 acres were found eligible under the scheme. The physical verification of the fields is yet to be done,” said Dr Wazir Singh, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), Karnal, adding that there is no limitation on the area covered under the scheme.
To promote adoption of the water-saving technique, the Haryana Government is providing an incentive of Rs 4,500 per acre to farmers cultivating paddy through DSR after successful verification, he said.
The Agriculture Department has begun field inspections to verify whether paddy has been sown using the DSR method or the conventional transplanting technique.
Agriculture experts explained that DSR eliminates the need for flooded fields during sowing. Instead, paddy is directly sown in wet or dry fields after pre-sowing and post-sowing irrigation, similar to the cultivation of cereals, pulses and oilseed crops.
Dr Virender Lather, former Principal Scientist at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi, said the technique significantly reduces water use.
“After sowing through DSR, fields require irrigation only after 15 to 21 days, while traditional transplanted paddy requires continuous flooding. DSR saves nearly 30% of groundwater irrigation compared to conventional methods. Besides, it saves one third cost of cultivation and power also,” he explained.
Dr Wazir Singh appealed to farmers to take maximum advantage of the DSR scheme and complete their registration.
Manoj, a farmer who adopted DSR on 32 acres, said the method was easy to implement. “Only weed management is a major issue, otherwise it is a water and labour-saving method for paddy cultivation,” he added.
Dharambir, another farmer who has adopted the technique on around 15 acres, said DSR was a better option than the traditional method for sustainable agriculture.
