For over a decade, Punjab witnessed a widespread cultivation of Pusa-44 due to its high yield.
Written by Anju Agnihotri Chaba.

Advancing the date of paddy transplanting this year — from June 10 to June 1 — has raised serious concerns, with farmers and agriculture officials of Punjab fearing this may “unintentionally encourage” the sowing of Pusa-44, especially in the Malwa region.

Earlier this month, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led AAP government in Punjab completely banned the cultivation and sale of Pusa-44 — a long-duration paddy variety, known for its high water consumption and substantial stubble production post-harvest — ahead of the upcoming paddy season. The move came in a bid to safeguard the state’s rapidly depleting groundwater level, reduce escalating electricity expenses due to irrigation, and tackle environmental pollution, the state Department of Agriculture had said.

Banned in November 2023 for the Kharif season last year, this is the second consecutive year that the state government has prohibited the cultivation of Pusa-44, which takes nearly 155-160 days — from nursery sowing to harvesting. It takes nearly 30-45 days more in the field against medium and short-duration varieties, i.e. 6-7 extra irrigation cycles.

For over a decade, Punjab witnessed a widespread cultivation of Pusa-44 due to its high yield.

However, over the past few years, the area for Pusa-44 cultivation has been decreasing across Punjab. In 2022, the area covered was 5.67 lakh hectares. It dropped to 3.86 lakh hectares in 2023. In 2024, it further reduced to 1.53 lakh hectares — 6% of the paddy area (for non-Basmati) in the state — due to continued restrictions and awareness campaigns, show data.

Earlier, Mann claimed that the reduction in the area for Pusa-44 cultivation helped Punjab in saving nearly Rs 477 crore in electricity expenses, as well as conserving about 5 billion cubic feet of groundwater. “This is a crucial step towards sustainable agriculture in Punjab,” Mann had said, urging farmers to “completely stop” Pusa-44 cultivation and rather opt for short-duration alternatives.

“Despite curbs, the latest decision to allow early paddy transplanting, from June 10 to June 1, has sparked renewed interest among farmers from several districts in cultivating Pusa-44. This is the first time since the implementation of the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009, that the transplanting window has officially been advanced,” a senior officer of the Agriculture Department, Malwa region, said. “We are educating farmers to opt out of Pusa-44, failing which, they would face difficulties at the time of procurement.”Several farmers in the districts of Sangrur, Bathinda, Barnala, Faridkot, Moga, and Mansa —where Pusa-44 has traditionally dominated — meanwhile, argue that Pusa-44, which requires about 30 days in nursery and 125-130 days in the field, is suitable for early transplanting. To be sure, several farmers have also been keeping saved seeds or sourcing them from neighbouring Haryana, to bypass the ban.

From the Malwa region, a farmer said: “If we start paddy transplantation on June 1, we can harvest by the second week of October, which aligns with the usual harvest season… Due to the earlier deadline of June 10 or 15, the crop was harvested by the end of October, leading to a narrow window ahead of the next crop sowing.”

Another farmer, from Mansa district, on the condition of anonymity, said: “We know the state government has banned it (Pusa-44), but it gives a good yield and suits the new timeline.”

The Agriculture Department, however, remains firm in its stance against the sale and cultivation of Pusa-44 in Punjab.Dr Amrik Singh, chief agriculture officer for Gurdaspur district, said: “We are holding awareness camps as well as advising farmers not to cultivate Pusa-44… Short-duration alternatives, which mature within 95-105 days after transplanting, can save water as well as offer a better window of nearly a month or more — between harvesting and sowing of wheat — for crop residue management.”

Officials argue that the new sowing schedule could still be advantageous for farmers opting for short-duration alternatives, enabling timely harvest, and reducing the risk of stubble burning. “Strict monitoring would be in place to ensure compliance with the Pusa-44 ban,” the Punjab government said in a statement, adding that it has urged farmers to adopt sustainable environmental practices as the state continues to face water crisis.

They claimed this move “will also help farmers in avoiding excessive moisture at harvest — witnessed earlier, due to delayed sowing and late harvesting. It will give them a wider window for stubble management too.”

Experts from the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), however, have raised concerns about the date of paddy sowing being advanced. According to them, the government should review the decision as it goes against earlier recommendations of the PAU, which advocates paddy sowing from June 20 or even June 25 for short-duration varieties — to conserve groundwater.Even short-duration alternatives, if sown from June 1 onwards, would put a significant strain on groundwater resources as May and June are among the hottest months of the year, with high evaporation rates. Advancing the date of paddy transplanting by just 10 days, they warned, would “lead to the consumption of billions of litres of groundwater”.

Published Date: April 22, 2025