Water-guzzling bumper summer maize worries agri experts
Punjab’s summer maize crop has sparked concern among farm experts due to its growing popularity. Despite not being recommended, maize cultivation has increased, with 53 lakh quintals already arriving in mandis, 11% higher than last year. The crop, grown on 2 lakh hectares, consumes excessive water and electricity, threatening the state’s groundwater. Experts warn of disastrous consequences and advocate for a stringent policy to stop summer maize cultivation, which is not covered under the minimum support price regime.
The brisk arrival trend of summer maize in mandis across the state has left farm experts worried about the growing popularity of the highly unrecommended crop.
Agriculture experts term the recent trend of cultivating maize during non-rainy days “alarming” and attribute it to the mushrooming of the silage industry, a processed cattle food, in Punjab.
Experts said the maize grown after the wheat harvest phase is not produced for edible grains and Punjab does not endorse it and the crop is not covered under the minimum support price (MSP) regime.
Punjab mandi board data says that about 53 lakh quintals of maize have already hit the purchase centres till July 10 which is 11% higher than in 2023 when it was about 46 lakh quintals.
According to the official data, Punjab’s maize purchase was 90.43 lakh quintals in 2023 and this season it is likely to surpass the record 100 lakh quintal mark.
Punjab agriculture director Jaswant Singh said field inputs suggest that farmers grew the water-guzzling summer maize on around 2 lakh hectares this year.
“It is a matter of deep concern that such a large area has come under this crop that the experts strongly disapprove. Maize sown in April and harvested in June consumes an enormous amount of water and requires a huge amount of electricity for irrigation in the dry period of the year. The government is working to phase out this emerging farm practice that could prove disastrous to the state’s groundwater asset,” said the official.
Officials said since summer maize was not endorsed and there was no official data for acreage under, but field studies say that in 2021 summer maize was sown on about 32,000 hectares which jumped to nearly 50,000 hectares in 2022.
As per information, spring maize was sown on about 1.50 lakh hectares in 2023 and this year, it touched the estimated area of 2 lakh hectares.
Principal maize breeder at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Surinder Kaur Sandhu advocates for a stringent policy to stop growing summer maize to protect depleting groundwater.
“PAU recommends growing maize only as a kharif crop when there is abundant rainfall. Before 2020, there was hardly maize cultivation post-wheat harvest but with the advent of silage units, farmers started sowing maize before sowing paddy. This is a very serious trend and must be discouraged,” she said.
Sandhu countered a viewpoint that summer maize is being sold at the below MSP of ₹2,225 for the 2024-25 marketing season and it is an economic setback to growers.
“Unlike the maize grown in February or July, this crop in April/May is harvested before it gets to the stage of grains. Farmers grow summer maize to make some fast buck and it has no utilisation other than the silage sector. But this trend will lead to irreparable stress of groundwater that is already at alarming levels in different parts of the state,” she added.
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