Centre to expand area under DSR rice to 40% by 2030, solution in the weeds

Weed management remains the biggest challenge in the adoption of the direct seeded rice method; to counter this, popularisation of herbicide-resistant rice is critical, say experts

Even as India prepares for another bumper year of rice production in the 2025 kharif season, aided by a favourable monsoon and increased acreage, much of the planting will continue to be done in an ecologically-unfriendly process known as 'open puddling', which involves raising the seedlings in nurseries and then transplanting them in ankle-deep water.

 

However, a small portion of the total area under paddy will continue to be under the direct seeded rice (DSR) method.

 

DSR as a method of growing rice has been prevalent in India since decades but most of it is in a traditional, un-scientific manner.