Context:
Stubble burning continues in Punjab amid poor air quality in Delhi
Stubble Burning:
- A method of removing paddy crop residues from the field to sow wheat from the last week of September to November (end of southwest monsoon season).
- Also known as parali burning
- It is a process of setting on fire the straw stubble, left after the harvesting of grains, like paddy, wheat, etc.
- Reason – Short time available between rice harvesting and sowing of wheat as delay in sowing wheat affects the wheat crop.
- Most prevalent in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, where it is used to clear fields for the sowing of rabi crops.
- Impacts –
- Emits large amounts of toxic pollutants in the atmosphere.
- Release of harmful gases like methane (CH4), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Volatile Organic compounds (VOC) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
- Formation of Smog
- Destroys the nutrients in the soil, making it less fertile.
- Heat generated by burning leads to the loss of moisture and useful microbes.
- What can be the alternatives?
- Crop residue management by zero-tiller machine
- Use of bio-decomposers.
- Example – PUSA Bio-Decomposer
- Use of Turbo Happy Seeder (THS) machine, which can uproot the stubble and also sow seeds in the area cleared.
- Chhattisgarh Model – Here, all the unused parali is collected through parali daan (people’s donations) and converted into organic fertilizer by rural youth.
Source: Hindustan Times
Previous Year Question
What is/are the advantage/advantages of zero tillage in agriculture?
1. Sowing of wheat is possible without burning the residue of previous crop.
2. Without the need for nursery of rice saplings, direct planting of paddy seeds in the wet soil is possible.
3. Carbon sequestration in the soil is possible.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (d)