Stubble Burning-The hindu-05-11-2022

Stubble Burning-The hindu-05-11-2022

Government Policies & Interventions

GS Paper - 2

Environment

GS Paper - 3

Why Stubble Burning?

Stubble (parali) burning is the act of setting fire to crop residue to remove them from the field to sow the next crop.

In order to plant next winter crop (Rabi crop), farmers in Haryana and Punjab have to move in a very short interval and if they are late, due to short winters these days, they might face considerable losses. Therefore, burning is the cheapest and fastest way to get rid of the stubble.

If parali is left in the field, pests like termites may attack the upcoming crop.

The precarious economic condition of farmers doesn’t allow them to use expensive mechanised methods to remove stubble

Causes of the Stubble Burning

Technology: The problem arises due to the use of mechanised harvesting which leaves several inches of stubble in the fields.

Earlier, this excess crop was used by farmers for cooking, as hay to keep their animals warm or even as extra insulation for homes.

But, now the stubble use for such purposes has become outdated.

Effects of Stubble Burning

Pollution: Open stubble burning emits large amounts of toxic pollutants in the atmosphere which contain harmful gases like methane (CH4), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Volatile organic compound (VOC) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

After the release in the atmosphere, these pollutants disperse in the surroundings, may undergo a physical and chemical transformation and eventually adversely affect human health by causing a thick blanket of smog.

Soil Fertility: Burning husk on ground destroys the nutrients in the soil, making it less fertile.

Heat Penetration: Heat generated by stubble burning penetrates into the soil, leading to the loss of moisture and useful microbes

Pusa Decomposer to Curb Stubble Burning

Quick Facts For Prelims

GS Paper - 3

Environmental Pollution & Degradation

Government Policies & Interventions

Why in News

Recently, the scientists have developed a bio-decomposer technique called ‘PUSA Decomposers’for converting crop stubble into compost.

Delhi and many other North Indian States are covered with smoke during winters due to stubble burning in the neighbouring States by the farmers

PUSA Decomposers: 

The decomposers are in the form of capsulesmade by extracting fungi strains that help the paddy straw to decompose at a much faster rate than usual.

The fungi helps to produce the essential enzymes for the degradation process.

Decomposer Mixture:

It involves making a liquid formulation using decomposer capsules and fermenting it over 8-10 days and then spraying the mixture on fields with crop stubble to ensure speedy bio-decomposition of the stubble.

The farmers can prepare 25 litre of liquid mixture with 4 capsules, jaggery and chickpea flour. The mixture is sufficient to cover 1 hectare of land.

Time to Decompose:

It takes around 20 days for the degradation process to be completed.

Under usual circumstances, shredded and watered paddy straw, which is mixed with soil, takes at least 45 days to decompose.

It does not give enough time for farmers to prepare fields for the wheat crop on time.

Benefits:

The decomposer improves the fertility and productivity of the soil as the stubble works as manure and compost for the crops and lesser fertiliser consumption is required in the future.

The soil loses its richness due to stubble burning and it also destroys the useful bacteria and fungi in the soil, apart from causing harm to the environment.

It is an efficient and effective, cheaper, doable and practical technique to stop stubble burning.

It is an eco-friendly and environmentallyuseful technology and will contribute to achieve Swachh Bharat Mission.