Partial Stubble Burning

In News

• Many farmers this year said that they are not burning the paddy stubble completely and are instead resorting to partial burning or burning only the loose straw.

What is loose straw and standing stubble?

• The short and long-duration paddy varieties have a height of 4 feet and over 5, respectively.
• Standing stubble 
  • The combined harvesters that farmers use to harvest paddy, cut off the upper portion of the paddy and leave behind a standing stubble of around 15 to 18 inches, which is called standing stubble.
• Loose straw 
  • It throws the chopped 2.5 feet loose stubble on the field after taking the grain portion from the shaved part of the stubble. This loose straw gets accumulated in several small dumps in the field which is called the loose straw.

What is partial stubble burning?

• After harvesting, farmers opting for partial burning let the loose straw dry for a couple of days and then they set these dumps on fire to prepare the field for the next crop. 
• In such cases, the standing stubble, which is mostly green, does not get burnt fully but it gets scorched close to those places in the field where loose straw is burnt.

Implications

• Farmers see stubble as the enemy of soil and the next crop but it is not.
• Farmers are burning just 10-12 spots where the loose straw gets accumulated in the field and fire is not inching toward the remaining field then it will save the remaining part of the field from burning.
  • In the case of air pollution, it will be around 40-50% less as they only burn around 50% to 60% of the total stubble in such cases. 

Source: IE