Aiming sustainable water management, Punjab Government, under Tandrust Punjab Mission, has decided to promote drip irrigation in maize crop.
Informing Tandrust Punjab Mission director KS Pannu said that a target of 1.50 lakh hectare has been fixed for sowing of maize crop this year. A pilot project of micro irrigation on maize crop would be taken up in 1,000 acres this season, he said.
Detailing about drip on maize campaign, Pannu said that out of 1,000 acres of maize under drip irrigation, 900 acres shall be on surface-based drip system whereas 100 acres shall be sub-surface based drip system.
He said that four micro-irrigation companies will also install demonstrations of drip irrigation on maize over an area of 10 acres each.
Officers were asked to work hard on alternative methods of crop watering in the wake of serious water resource challenge the State is likely to face in coming years.
The state Principal Chief Conservator of Soil Dharminder Kumar observed that drip irrigation not only conserves water but it also increases yield and the Department is ready to launch it on large scale.
Experts from Punjab Agricultural University informed that they have successfully conducted experiments of sub-surface drip irrigation system on maize-wheat-moong cycle and it should be promoted on mass scale.
The companies urged that GST (Goods and Services Tax) of 12 percent on micro irrigation should be brought to zero.
It is pertinent to mention that a pilot campaign of micro irrigation on cotton was also undertaken this season by Soil Conservation Department, under which 200 acres of cotton crop has been brought under drip
irrigation.