Rains delay paddy harvesting in parts of Punjab; farm fires to rebound: Experts

With a prolonged spell of rains delaying pdy harvesting in some regions of Punjab, farmers are more likely to burn stubble to make up for lost time and quickly prepare ir fields for next crop, experts say.    

Anor wear system is predicted to bring rain in parts of north India between October 4 and October 8, which could furr delay harvesting in some areas, forecasters said.  

" rains (last week) delayed pdy harvesting in several areas, especially in Amritsar and Tarn Taran region of Punjab, where farmers grow potato and peas before wheat. It is not an ideal situation," said Dr Mahesh Narang, he of farm engineering department at Punjab Agricultural University.

" delay in pdy harvesting has furr shortened window to prepare fields for next crop. So, re is a high probability se farmers may burn pdy straw inste of managing it through machinery," he explained.

“Stubble burning begins around September 20 but number of fire events remains low till October 12-14. rains last week suppressed farm fires in Punjab and Haryana and kept air pollution in check in Delhi-NCR,” said Vinay Sehgal, principal scientist at Indian Agricultural Research Institute.

According to data from 'Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space', not a single stubble burning incident has taken place in last six days in Punjab.

Three residue burning events took place on September 23; 30 on September 22; 56 on September 21 and 10 on September 20.

  Mahesh Palawat, vice president (meteorology and climate change), Skymet Wear, said a cyclonic circulation over west-central Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a low-pressure area and move in northwest direction up to Mhya Presh.

It could le to rains in Delhi-NCR and some parts of Haryana and Punjab between October 4 and October 8.  “If it rains next week, farm fires will shift towards mid-October, increasing ir number in that period and compounding impact,” Sehgal said.

Narang, however, hoped for better results this time.

"Overall, we believe number of farmers opting for in-situ management of stubble will increase this time unlike last two years," he said. Experts say farmers' protests in 2020 and assembly elections last year were major reasons behind spike in farm fires in state.

Punjab government will distribute 56,000 ditional machines at subsidised rates for in-situ management of stubble this season. A total of 90,422 machines have alrey been provided since 2018.

PAU professor said a repeat of air quality crisis seen on Diwali and subsequent days last year in Delhi-NCR is unlikely.

"Last year, three factors combined to hazardous air quality in Delhi-NCR -- farm fires, firecrackers and unfavourable meteorology.

"Diwali is on October 24 this year and stubble burning peaks in November. This is a crucial factor. So, it may not le to a severe situation on Diwali provided all or measures are followed strictly," he said.

Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said only sustained awareness campaigns and continuous engagement with all stakeholders will resolve problems such as stubble burning.

"Action just before stubble burning period is unlikely to yield good results. Authorities need to educate and inform farmers about all kinds of options available to m, be it crop diversification, bio decompose, or in-situ management," he said.

Along with unfavourable meteorological conditions, pdy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is a major reason behind alarming spike in air pollution levels in national capital in October and November. Farmers set ir fields on fire to quickly clear off crop residue before cultivating wheat and potato.

According to IARI, Punjab h reported 71,304 farm fires between September 15 and November 30 last year and 83,002 farm fires in corresponding period in 2020.

Last year, share of farm fires in Delhi's PM 2.5 pollution h peaked to 48% on November 7. 

Image: PTI