The Tribune

Even as the paddy harvesting season is underway and some farmers have already started burning the leftover stubble in Muktsar and the adjoining Fazilka district, three private biomass plants are proving to be a boon in getting rid of the menace.

The Economic Times

CHANDIGARH: Paddy and wheat stubble, the burning of which is blamed for the toxic smog that blankets Delhi every winter, is set to fuel a green initiative.

The Times of India

A vast number of farmers in Punjab and Haryana have decided to continue their annual ritual of setting fire to paddy straw. In the next few days, India’s northern region, especially Delhi, is again likely to become among the most polluted places on earth because a vast number of farmers in Punjab and Haryana have decided to continue their annual ritual of setting fire to paddy straw.

The Indian Express

The Punjab government is considering a proposal to make farmers ineligible for contesting panchayat election if found guilty of stubble burning, a senior minister said Thursday. The government is taking stringent steps to stop burning of stubble and paddy residue, Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said here.

Down To Earth

Scientists have identified regions in the wheat genome responsible for concentration of zinc in wheat grain. They have also identified candidate genes involved in zinc concentration in wheat. The findings can potentially help in developing wheat varieties with enhanced levels of the micronutrient, scientists said.

The Hindu

Speaking after attending a review meeting here on Thursday to assess the loss to agriculture sector in the district in the recent flood, Mr. Sarma said that land use based on scientific study was the need of the hour.

Business Standard

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Thursday said farmers from the state would be rewarded with Rs 100 crore if they won Nobel prize in natural farming.

The Economic Times

Angus is a robot. But don’t hold that against him, even if he looks more like a large tanning bed than C-3PO.Angus’ main job is to shuttle maturing produce to another, as-yet unnamed robot, which transfers plants from smaller growing pods to larger ones, using a mechanical arm whose joints are lubricated with “food-safe” grease.

The Indian Express

The farmer and his income is an important theme of discussion these days. A lot is being written on ways to increasing, and doubling, the farmers’ incomes by the year 2022. Viewed arithmetically, the income of a farmer is a function of three things — the cost of cultivation, production and sale proceeds of the produce. The formula stated in layman’s terms in Hindi is “laagat ghate, upaj badhe aur upaj ka sahi daam mile”.

The Arunachal Times

Siang Deputy Commissioner Rajeev Takuk has directed the agriculture and WRD departments to assess the damages caused to the agriculture fields and irrigation canals along the BRTF road near Yeksi village. During a meeting here with DLRSO Pumek Ronya, Agriculture Deputy Director Baleng Mengu, the 1448 BCC OC, the affected parties, and others on Thursday, Takuk asked the BRTF to ensure early release of compensation to the affected individuals. He also directed the DLRSO and the BRTF OC to carry out a joint inspection of the damages and submit a report within seven days.

The New Indian Express

After rain deficit and crop burning, farmers of Kolabira and Laikera blocks of the district are a worried lot now as Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) insects have damaged paddy plants on hundreds of acres of land.