Punjab government has prohibited the use of 10 pesticides on basmati to boost export quality of aromatic crop to a world-class standard. 

Basmati Cultivation, Direct Seeding of Rice in Punjab: Punjab has registered a rise in the basmati cultivation area by 12.58 percent in this Kharif season. This has been attributed to crop diversification launched by the Punjab government.

According to information, the area under cultivation of long-grain rice has increased to 6.71 lakh hectares at present from 5.96 lakh hectares during the last season. Meanwhile, Punjab's Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said that Amritsar led the way with 1.46 lakh hectares dedicated to this aromatic rice.

On the other hand, Muktsar came second with approximately 1.10 lakh hectares, followed by Fazilka (85,000 hectares), Tarn Taran (72,000 hectares), and Sangrur (50,000 hectares), approximately.

An official release quoted Khudian stating that there was a substantial 46.5 percent growth in the area under Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR), as compared to last year. The area cultivated using the water-saving DSR method also witnessed a rise to over 2.52 lakh acres from 1.72 lakh acres in the Kharif season of 2023, the minister said.

He further stated that the Punjab government has prohibited the use of 10 pesticides on basmati to boost the export quality of the aromatic crop to a world-class standard.