Ranchi: Worried about poor monsoon for paddy cultivation? Just go for a change and try a new farming technique—from conventional to innovative one. And you can produce paddy in even on arid land, though the quantum of produce may not match the yield with the one blessed with showers.
 
The Birsa Agriculture University (BAU), Ranchi, has come out a new technology for paddy cultivation called aerobic rice that allows certain freedom for farmers to grow it like the way wheat is produced.
 
The new technique of rice cultivation has been developed by the university keeping in mind the disturbing monsoon patterns in the State over the last few years.
 
Last year, about half the 17 lakh hectare of rice cultivable land was left barren for want of rains. However, the new technology could offer farmers some reason to cheer about.
 
Field results at different places in Jharkhand and other States have demonstrated that the new technology could minimize yield risks even under moisture stress and erratic monsoon conditions.
 
“Fertilisers are applied and paddy seed is sown in furrows in dry fields like wheat. It could be done manually with the help of bullocks or through tractor drawn seed cum fertiliser drill. A light rain or irrigation like the one followed in case of wheat farming is required within 15 days of sowing,” Director (research) of the university BN Singh explained.
 
Seeds of pulse crops like black gram, green gram, cow pea, sanai are also spread in the field because these do not allow weeds to grow. After 15-20 days, pulse plants are removed to be used as mulch in the same field which also improves soil fertility.
 
The university has decided to promote the new way of paddy farming after successful field trials in Jharkhand and other States in consultation with the Indian Council of Agricultural Reserch (ICAR), New Delhi.
 
The State has about 17 lakh hectare rice area, of which hardly nine lakh hectares could be sown last year due to erratic monsoon
 
Under system of rice intensification (SRI) technology, single seedling of 12-13 days are transplanted at plant to plant and row to row distance of 25 cm marked by a hand-operated light farm implement SRI marker.

Per hectare seed requirement in this system is just five kg as compared to 40-60 kg in traditional system of transplanted or broadcasted rice cultivation and yield is about 15 per cent higher.