Opportunities for Weed Control in Dry Seeded Rice in North-Western Indo-Gangetic Plains

Abstract

North-western Indo-Gangetic Plain (NW-IGP) of India has played a leading role in the agricultural transformation of India and is considered as the most fertile plain for the livelihood of millions of peoples of India (Dhillon et al., 2010). Its contribution to the national food basket over years has also registered a remarkable increase compared to other regions. Food security of the nation is highly dependent on the NW-IGP as evident from the contribution of this region to the national buffer stock of food grains, which has generally been 50–75% in wheat and 30–48% in rice (Timsina and Connor, 2001). Sustainable production of rice and wheat in the region is very important for the food security of India. Cultivation of rice requires huge labour and large amount of water. Water and labour, however, are becoming increasingly scarce in the region raising the questions of environmental sustainability and sustainability of rice production systems. In NW-IGP, increasing use of groundwater for rice cultivation has led to declines in water table by 0.1 to 1.0 m yr-1, resulting in water scarcity and increased cost for pumping water (Hira, 2009; Rodell et al., 2009; Humpherys et al., 2010). Implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, introduced by the Indian government in 2005 (GOI, 2011), promising 100 days of paid work in people’s home village, has been creating a labour scarcity in Punjab and Haryana which are the cereal bowl of northwest India. Rice transplanting in northwest India, particularly in the Punjab and Haryana, is dependent on millions of migrant labourers from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (Kumar & Ladha, 2011).