Current Agriculture Punjab farmers’ to go for direct seeding of rice They are shifting from traditional sowing method because of labour shortage As the labour shortage is imminent owing to exodus of migrant labourers amid the ongoing lockdown, farmers in Punjab seem all set to go for direct seeding of rice (DSR) this khairf season, moving away from the traditional practice —of sowing nursery and then transplanting it. DSR ? “The DSR technique is less time consuming and labour intensive than the conventional practice. The DSR technique called ‘tarwattar DSR’ has been developed and successfully tested on a good scale at farmers’ fields. It helps in saving irrigation water, there’s lesser weed problem, besides there is reduced incidence of nutrient deficiency, especially iron, owing to lesser leaching of nutrients and deeper root development,” said Makhan Singh Bhullar, principal agronomist at the Ludhianabased Punjab Agricultural University. Mr. Bhullar said that the technology has a wider adaptability as it is suitable for me