Every monsoon, Manu works in counts of five. 

In the first half of July, usually the fifth month in her lunar calendar, she starts a motor and floods her paddy field with up to five centimetres of water. For five days, she lets it soak, and once the paddy stands in relatively dry soil, she digs a channel and drains the excess. Five days later, she floods the field again.

Manu’s family has farmed rice in Nashik, Maharashtra for nearly 20 years. “They would keep the field filled with water, all the time,” she said. “What I........

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