Groundwater Saving in Punjab: Role of Short Duration Paddy Varieties in Agricultural Sustainability

Abstract

There are two types of varieties of paddy grown in the state i.e. long duration and short duration. To compare the economic viability of paddy varieties, most preferred long duration variety, Pusa 44 and short duration varieties, PR121 and PR126 were chosen for the study. A random sample of sixty farmers was taken from two blocks of Ludhiana and Barnala districts. The analysis revealed that expenses on fertilizers, plant protection measures, human labour use, and expenses on diesel for irrigation was considerably higher in Pusa 44 variety visa-vis short duration varieties. Total variable cost incurred while growing Pusa 44 variety was Rs. 39956 per hectare whereas it was Rs. 37056 and Rs 34724, respectively in case of PR 121 and PR 126 varieties. Although gross returns and returns over variable costs (ROVC) were higher in case of Pusa 44 than short duration varieties, but it requires more number of irrigation and input usage. Pusa 44 being long duration variety, results in delayed harvesting due to late maturity of crop leading to paddy straw burning due to shortage of window between paddy harvesting and wheat sowing affecting timely sowing of the wheat crop in season. The benefits of short duration paddy varieties in terms of rabi saving ground water and judicious input usage should be weighed in terms of agricultural sustainability perspective for Punjab vis-à-vis higher returns from long duration paddy varieties.