STUBBLE BURNING

Subject: Agriculture

Context: IARI has developed ‘decomposer’ capsules, which when mixed in a water solution and sprayed on land, gets to work on paddy stubble, softening and decomposing it to the extent it can mix with soil and act as compost

Concept:

Paddy stubble-burning season is here, and satellite remote sensing data from the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) show a five-fold increase in the number of farm fires in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh during the first six days of October compared to the corresponding dates in 2019.

What is stubble burning?

It is a common practice in October and November across North West India, but primarily in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to quickly clear crop residue from their fields before planting the rabi wheat crop

The burning of paddy stubble left in the fields after harvest has been a cause of concern for the past several years as it contributes to air pollution in the northern Gangetic plains and its already polluted cities like Delhi.

Several solutions have been proposed over the years to tackle the issue. The most recent one, which has been billed as a game-changer if found successful, is the ‘Pusa Decomposer’ capsule developed by IARI.

What is the ‘Pusa Decomposer’?

It is essentially a fungi-based liquid solution that can soften hard stubble to the extent that it can be easily mixed with soil in the field to act as compost. This would then rule out the need to burn the stubble, and also help in retaining the essential microbes and nutrients in soil that are otherwise damaged when the residue is burned.

 How long does it take for the decomposer to work?

The window of time required for the solution to work, which is currently the main concern of farmers, is around 20 to 25 days, as per the IARI. Farmers argue that this window is too long for them, as they ideally wait about a week or 10 days after harvesting the non-basmati variety of rice — which leaves hard stubble — to sow the wheat crop.IARI scientists, however, say that farmers do not necessarily have to plant the next crop in a rush — and that 20-25 days is enough waiting time.

How is this technology being used?

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that the decomposer will be used on a trial basis this year in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

Ministry officials said the technology would be used over 100 hectares of land in Punjab and Haryana, 800 hectares in Delhi and 10,000 hectares in Uttar Pradesh, which they said has been experimenting with a similar technology for the last three years.

IARI has been conducting experiments for a year-and-a-half on the decomposer. The technology was licensed for commercial use to four companies in 2019, and to two other companies in 2020.

Delhi has started preparing the solution with help from IARI and would begin spraying it over fields October 11 onwards.