Last Updated: 2 May 2025

18 Ethanol plants in Punjab have a huge demand of an annual 35 lakh tonnes for maize^[1]
-- Punjab’s average maize production is 5 lakh tonnes only
-- 100 kg maize produces 35-42 litres of Bio-ethanol, which is blended with petrol^[2]

New HIGH yield maize hybrid variety PMH 17 introduced
-- An average yield of 25 quintals per acre, with high starch content
-- Suitable for both grain and silage production
-- Maturity period of 96 days, aimed at conserving groundwater

Earlier 30% Lower Yield at average 15 quintals per acre against the potential average of 24 quintals due to lack of Quality Seeds^[1:1]

Target 2025-26: 21,000 hectares to be diversified from paddy to Kharif maize^[3]

Promotion:
-- Subsidy of Rs 17,500 per hectare for switching to Kharif maize cultivation, which will benefit ~30,000 farmers in Budget 2025-26

¶ Promotion Policies 2024-25

• Quality Seeds for Better Yield: Rs.100 per kg subsidy provided on purchase of certified hybrid maize seeds^[4]
• Under maize demonstrations, a total area of 3500 hectares receive financial support of Rs. 6000/- per hectare^[4:1]
• Maize is being specifically encouraged in a 45-50-km radius of the distilleries for convenient transportation^[1:2]

¶ Maize vs Paddy^[1:3]

• Kharif maize is the best alternative to paddy as the former requires 4-5 irrigation cycles, a fraction of the water requirement to grow rice
• Organic waste of maize is digested easily by the soil effortlessly

¶ Spring Maize^[1:4]

• Spring maize cultivated in February-March is being discouraged, which requires large amounts of water during May-June when the days are long, hot, and dry
  • Spring maize successfully decreased from 66,817 hectares in 2023 to 44,834 hectares in 2024^[5]

¶ Area under Cultivation^[6]

REFERENCES:

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1. https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/punjab-agri-dept-to-boost-kharif-maize-cultivation-for-biofuel-needs-101708283428717.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

2. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ludhiana/sowing-maize-as-paddy-replacement/ ↩︎

3. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/rs-14524-crore-allocated-for-agriculture-with-focus-on-diversification-stubble-management/articleshow/119553200.cms ↩︎

4. https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=196857 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

5. https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/area-under-summer-maize-dips-by-32-in-2024-pau-experts-101744746431545.html ↩︎

6. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/punjab-maize-area-plateau-8700210/ ↩︎