About the Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) method:
- DSR, also called the ‘broadcasting seed technique’, is a water-saving method of sowing paddy.
- Seeds are directly drilled into the fields in this method.
- This saves groundwater, as opposed to the traditional water-intensive method, under which rice seedlings are transplanted from a nursery to waterlogged fields.
- With DSR technique, farmers must sow paddy only after pre-sowing (rauni) irrigation and not in dry fields. Further, the field should be laser levelled.
- Advantages:
- No significant reduction of yield under optimal conditions;
- Savings on irrigation water by 12-35% under efficient water management practices;
- Reduces labour and drudgery by eliminating seedling uprooting and transplanting;
- Reduces cultivation time, energy, and cost;
- No plant stress from transplanting;
- Faster maturation of crops;
- Lower GHG emissions;
- Mechanised DSR provides employment opportunities;
- Increases total income by reducing the cost of cultivation;
- Current Constraints:
- Higher seed rates;
- Seeds exposed to birds and pests;
- Weed management;
- Higher risk of lodging;
- Risk of poor or non-uniform crop establishment;
