Paddy Straw Management: Challenges and Opportunities in Kashmir |
Rice has been an essential ingredient of Kashmiri cuisine and culture. Perusal of the recorded history reveals that hundreds of indigenous varieties were grown for different quality parameters including colour, taste, texture and aroma. The rice is believed to have been introduced to Kashmir by early travellers possibly from China and is under cultivation in this region since 1500 BC, as suggested by the archaeological evidences. The other part of the rice produce is the straw used by our ancestors in many facets of life. Historically rice straw was used for fodder, thatching the houses, preparing mats (patej), under flooring as insulator in homes and mosques, making shoes (pulhoer), binder in the cob, ropes and fuel by resource poor people etc.
Kashmir, characterised by a cold temperate climate, faces a long and chilling winter, during which the green fodder is scarce. In the contemporary times, rice straw continues to be the life line for our cattle population, as fodder and bedding material. Even the tribal people living in remote hilly areas keep a secured supply of rice straw to fulfil the deficit of hay during winter. More demanding and economic use of rice straw in apple industry as a packaging material, has grown parallelly with the growth in the apple industry. Rice straw is a good shock absorber and a cushioning material to prevent bruises in apple during storage and transport. The demand for rice straw is high during August, when the first harvest of early apple is packed and exported to other states. During August 2025, the rates per........