Bathinda, June 1 -- In a step towards promoting crop diversification and conserving groundwater resources in the state, the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has introduced a new hybrid maize, PMH 17, for cultivation during the upcoming kharif season.

State agriculture authorities are encouraging farmers to shift a portion of their paddy acreage to the newly developed hybrid, which requires substantially less water than traditional paddy crops.

In Punjab, officially recommended kharif maize covers only 2.5 lakh acres. Conversely, despite warnings from agricultural authorities regarding its high water consumption during the dry season, unrecommended summer maize spans 6 to 7 lakh acres, cultivated primarily for silage production.

Agr...