A rice variety that can address farm fires in Punjab and Haryana

Sub: Sci

Sec: Biotech

Context:

IARI has developed a new rice variety Pusa-2090, which can be a viable replacement to the popular Pusa-44 variety that has caused environmental concerns.

Pusa-44 Paddy variety:

Developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, and released for large-scale cultivation in 1993.
Growth Duration: 155-160 days, from the time of sowing its seeds in nurseries to harvesting the grain.
Yield: 35-36 quintals per acre, up to 40 quintals in some areas.
Higher yield compared to PR-126 developed by Punjab Agricultural University (30-32 quintals in 123-125 days).
Although it takes longer to mature, the extra 4-5 quintals yield is worth Rs 9,280-11,600 (per acre) at the Centre’s minimum support price of Rs 2,320 per quintal for ‘Grade A’ paddy.
Pusa-44 covered an estimated 14.8% of Punjab’s total non-basmati paddy area in 2023.

Environmental Cost:

The Pusa-44 variety, transplanted in mid-June after nursery-sowing a month before, can be harvested only towards end-October. This leaves little time for field preparation to sow the winter wheat crop and farmers often resort to stubble burning.
This leads to severe pollution in northern India from late-October to mid-November.

Ban on Pusa-44:

Punjab government has banned Pusa-44 from this crop year and IARI has stopped supplying breeder material for further multiplication after 2021.
Despite the ban, farmers are still growing it, using saved grains from the previous crops as seed.

Super Seeder: An alternative to stubble burning:

The super seeder is a tractor-drawn machine that ploughs stubble into the soil and sows the wheat seeds in a single pass.
Not all farmers can afford such expensive machines and stubble burning remains the least costly method to manage stubble.

Pusa-2090:

Developed by IARI as a shorter-duration alternative to Pusa-44, with maturity in 120-125 days and yield of 34-35 quintals per acre, closer to Pusa-44’s.
It is a cross between Pusa-44 andCB-501, an early-maturing Japonica rice line (a rice subspecies of East Asia).
The new variety has a strong culm (main stem) that makes it less prone to lodging (bending over or falling due to heavy winds and rains).
It is highly responsive to the application of nitrogen (urea), like Pusa-44.
Requires 5-6 fewer irrigations as it matures early.