STORAGE OF PADDY ITK 1

STORAGE OF PADDY INSIDE PURA
Storing of grains of different crops for future use is one of the most important area where lot of indigenous knowledge is available in different societies. Such practices still find an important place in the rain fed areas as here people have to depend upon the major crops as their food which are produced only once in a year. In Orissa farmers have discovered the insect protecting ability of the paddy straw and so use it for preparing structures made of ropes of this straw. In the district of Bargarh farmers have been found to prepare such structures called pura, puda, puduga or olia of different sizes to store starting from 50 kg to maximum 30 quintals of paddy. For preparing such structures first of all ropes of around 1 inch diameter are prepared and are coiled to form a bin (storage) like structure on the inner side of which a layer of dried straw is put to maintain the shape of the bin. This also helps to close the gap between the ropes of straw. For storing of small quantities of paddy, say 50 kg, portable structures are made while for heavy quantities the structures are made over raised platforms. Paddy has been found to remain unaffected by insects up to 6-7 years in such structures. Paddy which are to be used for seed in the during the next season are usually kept in small portable structures and those meant for consumption purpose are kept in bigger structures. This practice is abundantly practised in the rein fed regions of the district for the aforesaid reasons. It is to be noted that in the irrigated areas paddy is sold to the modern mills from the field itself after threshing.
SOURCE: Barik, T. and Barik K.C. 2006. Indigenous Knowledge, Agricultural Festivals and Farmers’ Informal Experiments of Bargarh District. Extension Education bulletin no. 27. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bargarh Orissa university of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, 751003. 44pp.