Pusa Decomposer
Prelims Syllabus: Environment, Ecology & Disaster Management
Mains Syllabus:
GS-III Disaster Management
Why in News?
• Paddy stubble-burning season is here, and satellite remote sensing data from the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) show a five-fold increase in the number of farm fires in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh during the first six days of October compared to the corresponding dates in 2019.
• While this initial spike might flatten in the coming days, the SAFAR-India short-range forecast on Thursday (October 8) said the overall AQI in Delhi was in the “higher end moderate category”, and was forecast “at the higher end of moderate to the poor category”
for October 9.Stubble Burning:
• The burning of Paddy Stubble left in the fields after harvest has been a cause of concern for the past several years as it contributes to air pollution in the northern Gangetic plains and its already polluted cities like Delhi.
• The most recent
one, which has been billed as a game-changer if found successful, is the ‘Pusa Decomposer’
capsule developed by IARI.
What is the ‘Pusa Decomposer’?
• It is essentially a fungi-based liquid solution that can soften hard stubble to the extent that
it can be easily mixed with soil in the field to act as compost.
• This would then rule out the need to burn the stubble, and also help in retaining the essential microbes and nutrients in soil that are otherwise damaged when the residue is Burned.
Impact on Delhi's air:
• Farmers in Punjab and Haryana burn paddy stubble around this time before they prepare
the soil for the rabi crop. Smoke from burning crop stubble contributes to air pollution
over the national capital and large parts of the Indo-Gangetic plain Every Winter.
