Paddy varieties that require very little water developed

Scientists at the University of Agriculture Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, have come up with a disease-resistant and high-yielding variety of paddy that requires very little water for cultivation. The conventional puddle paddy cultivation required plenty of water and was labour intensive. This coupled with unpredictable rainfall and overexploitation of groundwater had resulted in a grim situation for paddy farmers. Dr. Sheelavantar said the new method of cultivation was called aerobic cultivation of paddy. The advantages of the new method using improved seeds was that unlike in the traditional method, which required transplantation of the crop from nurseries, direct seed sowing was made possible and inundation of the fields was not required. Apart from this, it was not so labour intensive and required fewer seeds. The need for less water also reduced the amount of fertilizer required. The absence of water in the fields would reduce pest attacks and diseases.

Source: hindu.comAdded: 9 January 2007