Productivity and economics of direct seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A field study was conducted during Kharif season of 2011 and 2012, to evaluate direct seeded rice options as compared to transplanted rice with an objective to improve farm productivity and efficiency. Labour and cost saving of 97% and 80% were observed in direct seeded rice (DSR) as compared to manual puddled transplanted rice in sowing/transplanting. Tillage and crop establishment methods had a significant effect on rice yields. Yield of manual puddled transplanted rice was significantly higher (10-12%) than DSR during both the years. DSR consumed 12-17 percent less water as compared to puddled transplanted rice during 2011, whereas, it consumed 5-9 per cent more water as compared to puddled transplanted rice during 2012. When compared to manual puddled transplanted rice, a labour saving of 7-8 percent (overall) was observed in DSR during both the years. The B: C ratio was highest in DSR in zero till condition (1.74) as compared to manual puddled transplanted rice (1.62). The study showed that the conventional practice of puddled transplanting could be replaced with zero till DSR to save water and labour

Improved weed management for transplanted aman rice

Rainfed transplanted rice grown in the monsoon aman season accounts for more than 50% of the total area planted to rice in Bangladesh. Because of rising input costs, including labor, farmers are searching for ways to maintain income, by either increasing yields or reducing costs or both. On-farm trials in the High Barind Tract indicated that one-third of the farmers would be able to gain 0.5 t ha–1 or more additional grain by undertaking more intensive or timelier weeding than is usual under current management practices. Higher yields were observed on-farm from a preemergence application of butachlor(1.25 kg a.i. ha–1) compared with hand weeding twice. In Comilla District, trials of a range of weed management practices demonstrated that the yield advantage over the farmers’ practice, either one or two hand weedings, was on average 355 ± 18 kg ha–1 for Rifit (pretilachlor), 281 ± 39 kg ha–1 for Machete (butachlor), and 210 ± 34 kg ha–1 for Ronstar (oxadiazon), each followed by one hand weeding in aman 2003. Partial budgets calculated for inputs and returns showed that hand weeding was less profitable than herbicides in rainfed rice,incurring US$72 ha–1 lower return. Use of a push weeder plus one hand weeding was less profitable than herbicides, incurring$49 ha–1 lower return. To date, herbicides have been largely promoted for irrigated rice in Bangladesh. The trial results demonstrate that under rainfed conditions early in the aman season, water levels are adequate for herbicides to work effectively. The use of herbicides allows timely weed control when there is a shortage of labor and avoids transaction costs, such as the provision of meals and time needed to source laborers. Herbicides are likely to be adopted by growers experiencing labor shortages, particularly on large farms and for farmers seeking to reduce input costs. Sharecroppers and tenant farmers who pay rent are primarily concerned about obtaining a high aman yield, so innovations that raise aman yields (such as herbicides that will have a similar effect as a timely first weeding) are also likely to be adopted on sharecropped plots, even when costs are not shared between the landlord and tenant

Soil Chemical Properties Under Conservation Agriculture and Cereal-Based Cropping System in Eastern Tarai of Nepal

Field experiments were conducted for four years (2014-2017) at five locations namely Salbani, Bhokraha, Simariya, Bhaluwa and Kaptanganj of Sunsari district to assess the changes in soil chemical properties under conservation agriculture (CA)-based practices in two cropping systems namely rice-kidney bean-maize at Salbani and rice-wheat at rest of the locations. In rice-wheat cropping system, there were four treatments: (1) conventional tillage (CT) for rice transplantation and subsequent wheat sowing, (2) conventional tillage rice transplantation followed by zero tillage (ZT) wheat, (3) unpuddled rice transplantation followed by zero tillage wheat, (4) zero tillage in both rice and wheat. Similarly, in rice-kidney bean-maize cropping system, there were four treatments; (1) conventional tillage for rice transplantation and sowing of both kidney bean and maize, (2) conventional tillage rice transplantation followed by zero tillage in both kidney bean and maize, (3) unpuddled rice transplantation followed by zero tillage in both kidney bean and maize, (4) zero tillage in all three crops. Soil samples were taken at initial and every year after rice harvest.The soil samples were analyzed for total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, pH and soil organic matter.Total nitrogen (N) showed a slightly decreasing trend in the first three years and showed a slight increase at the end of experiment under ZT in all locations. The total N under ZT changed from 0.12 to 0.13%, 0.05 to 0.06%, 0.10 to 0.12%, 0.11 to 0.08% and 0.09 to 0.13% in Salbani, Bhokraha, Simariya, Bhaluwa and Kaptanganj, respectively.  All locations showed the positive values of available potassium; Salbani  revealing considerable change of 64.3 to 78.5 mg/kg in CT while 68.4 to 73.3 mg/kg in ZT condition. The treatment where rice was transplanted in unpuddled condition and zero tilled to wheat, had a mean value of available phosphorus and potassium as 87.3 and 81.9 mg/kg respectively. Soil pH ranged from 4.8 to 7.1 in CT while it was 5.2 to 6.8 in ZT across the locations. The change in soil organic matter in CT of all locations except Salbani was narrower as compared to ZT

Effect of Different Dates of Dry Seeding and Staggered Nursery Sowing on Growth and Yield of Kharif Rice

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different dates of dry seeding and staggered nursery sowing on growth and yield of Kharif rice. The experiment was based on the difficulties faced by the farmers in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and those who depend on canal irrigation and are located at the tail end areas. The experimental results have showed no difference among the methods of stand establishment in terms of yield. However, among the dates of sowing the delay in sowing beyond 30th July significantly reduced the grain yield and returns per rupee invested. It has been concluded that the rice crop may be established either by direct seeding or by transplanting nurseries but the sowing of the respective cultures should be done by the end of July for obtaining maximum yield and profits

On-farm trials with rice fish cultivation in the west Kano rice irrigation scheme, Kenya

The viability of integrating rice farming with fish culture was studied in ten (10) rice plots. The on-farm research was done during one rice-growing season starting May 2003. The rice variety used was IR 2793-80-1 while the fish species was the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. The fish culture period lasted 77 days. An average fish production of 132.4 kg/ha was obtained. The mean recovery rate of tilapia was 43 per cent. Total rice yield from the fields stocked with fish was lower than from unstocked fields. The net returns were not significantly different

Nitrous Oxide Emission and Nitrogen Uptake Affected by Soil Amendment and Nematicide in Rainfed Rice Soils at Central Java

Rice cultivation is one of the antropogenic sources of nitrous oxide (N2O) emission that is produced by microbiological nitrification-denitrification processes. Incorporating soil amendment in rainfed rice soil attempted to increase soil productivity, while nematicide application aimed to maintain root growth system. Incorporating soil amendment and nematicide application are predicted to suppress N2O production in lowland rice. The objective of this research was to study the interaction of soil organic amendment and nematicide on N2O emission and nitrogen uptake from rainfed lowland rice soils. A field experiment was conducted in rainfed lowland rice soils during 2010/2011 wet season (direct seeded rice) and 2011 dry season (transplanted rice). The 3 x 3 factorial trial was arranged in a randomized completely block design with three replications. The first factor was soil amendment consisted of without rice straw, fresh rice straw and composted rice straw. The second factor was nematicide application consisted of without nematicide, neemcake and carbofuran. Variables measured were N2O flux, rice grain yield and nitrogen uptake. Incorporation of fresh and composted rice straws reduced N2O flux about 49.2% and 59.9% in transplanted rice, and 32.9% and 28.2% in direct seeded rice, respectively. The neemcake application reduced N2O emission about 44-50%, while carbofuran application decreased N2O emission by 23-35%. Neemcake has a good potential as nitrification inhibitor of N2O emission, so the neem trees have a prospect to be cultivated intensively. The reduction of N2O emission was effective in direct seeded rice system with the application of neemcake and fresh rice straw, however, in transplanted rice system it was effective with neemcake and composted rice straw applications

Is tillering efficiency a relevant trait in selecting for high yield potential in rice?

Improving yield potential in rice implies the characterization of particular crop traits that may be used by breeders in their breeding programs. The rice crop is known to initiate and develop many tillers; a significant part of this may be higher than 50%, do not produce any grain. Recent breeding programs for yield potential have selected genotypes with high tillering efficiency (low tiller mortality) such as new plant types to reduce dry matter loss (Schnier et al 1990) and respiration cost (Dingkuhn et al 1990), but they did not produce the expected high yield in experimental fields. A positive correlation of grain yield with tillering efficiency would also imply a detrimental effect of non-productive tillers. We reviewed here a number of our recent field works to characterize the correlation between grain yield and tillering efficiency across genotypes of the same crop duration grown in similar favorable conditions and across crop managements for the same genotype. (Résumé d'auteur

Producing more rice with less water from irrigated systems

Irrigation management / Water use efficiency / Crop production / Water requirements / Water balance / Rice / Water distribution / Irrigated farming / Productivity / On-farm research / Irrigation scheduling / Groundwater / Conjunctive use / Rehabilitation / Modernization / Farmer participation / Farming systems / Irrigation systems / Crop-based irrigation / Asia / Philippines / Sri Lanka / Bangladesh / China / Malaysia / USA