Current Science

Rajbir Singh ¹, Gulshan Mahajan ², Simerjeet Kaur ², Bhagirath Singh Chauhan ³

Affiliations
1 ICAR, Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Ludhiana 141 004, IN
2 Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 004, IN
3 The Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, AU

Abstract

Rice is the most popular kharif food crop grown in North India. In Punjab, 75–80% of area under rice is machine-harvested and based on harvest index, 18–20 million tonnes of rice straw production is estimated. Approximately 95% of paddy straw and 25% of wheat straw are burnt every year in Punjab, making the state the major culprit for greenhouse gas emissions. The emissions from wheat crop residues in Punjab are relatively low compared to those from paddy fields. Residue burning in agricultural fields of North India is a major source of smoke, smog and particulate pollution.

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