Ludhiana, June 30 -- The district has experienced a significant increase in the area dedicated to Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) cultivation this Kharif season, more than doubling last year's figures. With the transplantation process still halfway complete, the DSR cultivated area has already reached 4,000 acres, a considerable jump from the 1,800 acres recorded last Kharif season.

Chief agricultural officer Gurdeep Singh noted that while the total area under DSR was only 1,800 acres last year, this year has seen a substantial rise to 4,000 acres, even with transplantation expected to continue until July 15. The department anticipates that 2.58 lakh hectares of land will be cultivated with paddy this Kharif season, and Ludhiana district has al...