Punjab: Rain gun being used to irrigate paddy fields helps save 50% water in Sangrur

BENRA(SANGRUR): Taking serious note of depleting water table in Punjab, the agriculture department has taken a new initiative for the irrigation of paddy fields by installing a ‘Rain Gun’ in the fields of a Sangrur district farmer.
While visiting the farms of Nirmal Singh resident of Benra village near Dhuri to review the efficiency of Rain Gun, deputy commissioner Sangrur Ramvir said that the new method could save upto 50 percent water as compared to traditional method of irrigation. DC added that the rain gun has been installed by the agriculture department on trial basis and data is being recorded on a daily basis from the particular farm.
DC Ramvir said that this year direct sowing of rice (DSR) has been done on more than 21,000 hectares which is much better than last year’s figures of 700 hectares. He added that by adopting the DSR method, the farmers could save around 20 percent of water and other input costs including labor as well. He added that if rain guns will be used to irrigate DSR fields, then the farmers would be able to save 50 percent water as compared to traditional cultivation of paddy. He said that a consolidated report of the outcomes of this trial will be sent to the government after the harvesting of the paddy from the fields for further expansion of this project.
Meanwhile, chief agriculture officer Jaswinderpal Singh Grewal said that apart from saving water, the rain gun also helps to save electricity. He added that the input cost on urea fertilizer could also decrease as water thrown into the air by the rain gun also absorbs nitrogen from the environment and takes it to the roots of plants. He said that the artificial rain also washed plants regularly which also reduced the threat of pest attack on fields.
Grewal said that apart from paddy ‘Rain Gun’ could also be used to irrigate other crops and following the direction of department’s secretary Kahan Singh, they were arranging field visits of farmers to make them aware of the benefits of new irrigation technique.