Stubble Burning
Source: Hindu
GS II: Policies and Developmental Studies; GS III: Food and Agriculture

What is discussed under Stubble Burning?

1. What is Stubble Burning?
2. Impacts
3. Bio-Decomposer Technology

Why in News?

• The Delhi government will spray a bio-decomposer free of charge over 5,000 acres of paddy fields in the city to limit stubble burning and decrease air pollution during winter.
• The Indian Agricultural Research Institute created a bio-decomposer capsule that decomposes straw and stubble into manure.

What is Stubble Burning?

• From the last week of September to November, it is a method of eliminating rice crop remnants from the land in order to seed wheat.
• It is the technique of igniting the paddy or wheat straw that remains after harvesting grains such as rice, wheat, and others.
• It is frequently necessary for places where crop residue is left behind by the combination harvesting process.

Reasons 

• Limited time available between rice harvesting and wheat sowing, as a delay in seeding wheat harms the wheat crop.
• There is just a two to three-week time window between harvesting the rice crop and seeding the following crop.
• It is one of the least expensive techniques for cleaning the field after harvesting.

Major Stubble Burning States in India

• Paddy stubble burning is mostly used to clear fields for rabi crop sowing in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

  

• The paddy crop harvesting in Punjab and Haryana happens during the first and final weeks of October.
• Wheat crop sowing occurs from the first week of November to the middle of December.
• Punjab has the greatest rate of paddy stubble burning, followed by Haryana, while Uttar Pradesh has the highest rate of wheat stubble burning.
• It has an impact on the national capital’s and NCR’s Air Quality Index (AQI).
• Stubble burning in Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab in north India is a major source of air pollution in Delhi and its surrounding areas.

Impacts 

• Pollution:
  • It discharges toxic gases into the environment, including carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds (VOC).
  • These pollutants diffuse throughout the environment, eventually generating a thick blanket of smog that affects air quality and people’s health.
• Soil fertility:
  • When the husk is burned on the ground, the soil becomes less fertile and its nutrients are eliminated.
• Heat penetration:
  • It creates heat that enters the soil, increasing erosion and the loss of beneficial bacteria and moisture.

Bio-Decomposer Technology for Stubble Burning

• The bio-decomposer Pusa Decomposer created by The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was employed by the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
• It can turn crop residue into organic manure in just 15-20 days.

Benefits

• Simple to use.
• Friendly to the environment.
• Aids in the preservation of soil health.
• It replenishes the soil’s organic content.
• Spraying is simple.
• Effective and proven outcomes.
• Reduces pollution by resolving the problem of stubble burning.

Who Can Use It?

• Farmers can use it instead of burning agricultural debris to degrade it.
• Government agencies can spray it on farmers’ fields to break down agricultural leftovers.
• Industries that generate food and organic waste can utilise it to degrade garbage more quickly and turn it into organic manure.
• To break down organic waste in the kitchen garden.
• To decompose food waste in the food business.

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