Stubble Burning

In News

• The Delhi government will opt for spraying a bio-decomposer in paddy fields to control the stubble burning and reduce air pollution during winter.

More about the News

• The bio-decomposer will be sprayed on 5,000 acres of land in Punjab on a trial basis.
  • The bio-decomposer is a microbial solution which can turn paddy straw into manure in 15-20 days.
• The massive amount of smoke and toxic gases released by stubble burning  causes health problems, ranging from eye and breathing troubles to more serious illnesses. 

Stubble Burning

• Stubble burning is the practice of intentionally setting fire to the straw stubble that remains after grains, such as rice and wheat, have been harvested. 
• The technique was widespread until the 1990s, when governments increasingly restricted its use.
• Stubble burning in northern India has long been a major cause of air pollution, but efforts to stop it fail every year.
• Every year, when winter sets in, Delhi’s air pollution peaks with the air quality index (AQI) often plunging to the ‘severe’ and ‘hazardous’ categories. 

Impact of Stubble Burning

• Stubble burning in northern India has long been a major cause of air pollution.
• The pollution makes people more vulnerable to infection and slows their recovery post infection.
• Burning husk on the ground destroys the nutrients in the soil, making it less fertile.
• Heat generated by stubble burning penetrates into the soil, leading to the loss of moisture and useful microbes.

Alternatives to Stubble Burning

• One such method is using a Turbo Happy Seeder (THS) machine, which can uproot the stubble and also sow seeds in the area cleared. The stubble can then be used as mulch for the field.
• Another possible alternative is the Pusa bio-decomposer, developed by the scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, which turns crop residue to manure in 15-20 days by accelerating the decomposition process.
• In-situ treatment of stubble: Providing equipment to farmers to mix the stubble back into the soil, so that they do not have to burn it.
• Ex-situ treatment: Under this, some companies have started collecting stubble for their use, but we need more action on this front.
• Changing cropping pattern: It is the deeper and more fundamental solution.
• Subsidise crops other than paddy, the source of most stubble burning. Policy and money should incentivise farmers in the region to plant more fruits and vegetables. 

Way Ahead

• Small and marginal farmers need support for adoption of in-situ strategies, to mulch the straw into the soil and not burn it.
• Imposing a fine is not going to work in our socio-economic conditions for curbing stubble burning. We need to focus on alternative solutions.

Source: TH