With low water requirement, two rice varieties find fresh takers in Punjab

PR-121 and PR-126 encourage growers with short duration of harvest and low water requirement

The seeds of two varieties of rice developed by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) are finding takers in the state, after a slow start when they were introduced eight years ago. PR-121 and PR-126, which require comparatively less water for cultivation, have been in huge demand among farmers since 2020.

According to scientists at PAU, Ludhiana, sowing the two varieties will help Punjab restore its depleting groundwater. Also, they can be harvested between 93 and 110 days after sowing compared to the 160-day period for a popular earlier variety called PUSA-44. Due to early harvest, farmers also stand to gain more time to remove the paddy straw, which is a significant polluter during the onset of winter across north India.

Buta Singh Dhillon, agronomist (rice) at PAU, says that the two varieties save 20 per cent water compared to the traditional PUSA-44 rice. This year, there has been a considerable increase in the area under cultivation of PR-121 and PR-126. “In 2020, these newer varieties have been sown in about 34 per cent of the total area under rice cultivation in Punjab, which is a welcome sign. It is up from around 19 per cent in 2019,” he adds.

Another positive is that one can sow these varieties a little before the monsoon. So, abo­ut 70 per cent of the water requirements are met by the monsoon showers.

Ranvir Singh Gill, in-charge, rice section, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at PAU, points out that PR-121 matures in 110 days and PR-126 in 93 days. Their shorter duration of harvest allows farmers to delay sowing almost until the start of monsoon. “Once it rains, their water requirements go down considerably. The long-duration varieties have to be planted by May 1. But these varieties can be planted as late as May 20 and harvested by September,” he adds.

G S Mangat, head, Plant Engineering and Genetics, PAU, says that the two varieties can improve the water table, which is declining at .51 metres per annum in the state. “In spite of heavy rains for the last three years in the central Punjab districts of Ludhiana, Bhatinda, Moga, Mansa and Sangrur, the recharge of the water table is in negative values," Mangat says.

The two varieties have encouraged farmers with their higher yield, low pesticide requirement and duration of harvest, says Sardar Gursimran Singh, a farmer from Mansa who has been sowing them for some years now.

Devinder Singh Jaggi, a farmer from Payal in Ludhiana district, says that 50 per cent of the cultivators in his village have been growing PR-121 and PR-126. “They are high-yield varieties and take less time to harvest, so they can ultimately take us closer to a three-crop pattern from the two-crop cycle that we now follow.”

Tejpal Singh, a progressive farmer from Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib district, says that currently, 90 per cent of Punjab’s farmers grow two crops annually: wheat and rice. But, he is hopeful that the two short-duration varieties will help them grow three crops that may include maize or potato. “This will definitely help farmers enhance their income,” he says.

People are usually apprehensive about newer varieties, adds Kiranveer Mangat, a farmer from Katani Kalan village in Ludhiana. He admits that he, too, was initially unsure. “I began sowing PR-121 in just one acre two years ago. When I saw that the results were better, I slowly increased its cultivation to two acres. This year, I expanded it to five acres. In fact, our entire village has slowly begun to switch to these newer varieties,” he says.

The seeds of the two varieties are distributed by PAU at negligible rates. The rice is sold to buyers at retail rates of Rs 60-80 per kg, and they fetch the farmers Rs 25-30 per kg. In terms of pricing or quality, they do not differ from the more traditional PUSA-44 but the quick yield is putting them ahead.