Production Practices - Rice Based Cropping Systems

Crop planning

Rice is the most important cereal crop of North Eastern Hill. It is the staple food of the inhabitants of the region. However, presently its average yield is low as compared to that of the country. The increase in productivity of rice will ensure food security of the region. The requirements of a good crop of rice are as follow:

Crop Calendar

Prepare a crop calendar for your area prior to cultivation. This will help you plan more effectively. Prepare a financial calendar as well. This will help indicate when there will be a requirement for finances well in advance.

Variety

Choose the most suited high yielding and recommended variety for your area

Popular varieties of Odisha

Short duration

To get the most of a non rice winter crop by ensuring timely planting, choose a shorter duration high-yielding variety or hybrid.

Short duration varieties and hybrids include:

Khanadagiri, Jyotirmayee, Parijat, MTU 1001, Kalinga 111, Sidhant, Shahbhagi Dhan (drought tolerant) and few hybrids like, Arize 6129, Ajay, Suruchi 5401, Rajlaxmi, US323

Medium and long duration

Choose medium and long duration varieties for areas that stay wet till the end of December.

Medium and long duration varieties include:

Lalat, Surendra, Pratikhshya, Konark, Naveen, Hiranmayee, Swarna (MTU7029), Mahsuri (BPT 5204), Savitri, Pooja, CR1014, Ramchandi, Gayatri, Mahanadi and SwarnaSub1 (submergence tolerant), BINA dhan 11 and hybrids like Arize 6444

Stress tolerant rice varieties

Choose stress tolerant varieties for areas that are prone to stresses like flood and drought.

Submergence tolerant varieties:
Drought tolerant varieties:
Salt tolerant varieties:

Quality seed

Good seeds make healthy and strong seedlings and create a uniform crop stand.

Seed rate

For 1 ha rice use 40 kg seed for manually transplanted rice (use only 15 kg seed for hybrids)

Source and class of seed

Buy certified seed from a reliable source, or
Produce your own good seed. If using your own seeds, seeds should be:
- clean (containing no weed seed, soil, or stones)
- pure (only one variety)
- healthy (same color, fully filled grains, no cracks)

Breaking dormancy

Expose seeds to high temperatures (40-42°C) for 1-2 days prior to sowing.

Germination testing

Materials required: seed, 3-5 handkerchief-sized rags, 3-5 small sticks, short lengths of string or rubber band

Soak the rags in clean water and spread them out on a flat surface
From the seed sample, count 100 grains for each rag and distribute the grains evenly around the cloth (ten rows of ten grains facilitates counting)
Carefully roll each rag around a separate stick, leaving the seeds undisturbed inside
Fasten the rags to the sticks with string and store in a warm moist place for five days
Ensure that the cloth remains moist
After five days, unroll the rags and count the number of seeds with roots. If each rag contains exactly 100 seeds, the number of sprouted seeds will equal the germination rate of the sample (e.g. if 85 seeds out of 100 sprouted, the germination rate equals 85%)
If germination percentage is less than 70, reject the seed lot and use new seeds. If germination percentage is between 70 and 85, adjust the seed rate accordingly after cleaning the seed

Seed cleaning by flotation

Before soaking your seeds for nursery preparation, clean them by extracting all empty and partially-filled grains. These grains will produce weak seedlings. Pour the seed into a bucket containing clean water and stir gently. Discard all grains which float to the surface.

Seed soaking

Soak seeds for 4-8 hrs and re-dry prior to sowing. Seeds must be sown within 1-2 days after priming. Remove the seeds that float as they are empty or damaged seeds.

Pre-germination

Primed seed should be soaked in water for 12-24 hrs and the water may be drained for air circulation. In colder weather, seeds may need to be soaked for 36-48 hrs. Drain and dry the seed in bag for 24 hrs in a shady area where air can circulate around the bags. If bag temperatures exceed 42°C, some seeds will be damaged.

Seed treatment

Seed treatment prevents and controls seed-, soil-, and air-borne diseases. It improves germination, vigor, and productivity. Treat the seeds either with azospirrilum or with a fungicide before sowing.

Nursery management

Land for the nursery should be near a reliable source of irrigation. Plough sufficiently, level well, and keep the seedbed free of weeds. Use pre-germinated seeds in the nursery bed. Use raised nursery beds to avoid stagnation of water.

Nursery size

Field Area (ha)	Dimensions of Nursery (sq.m)	Seed Rate		Fertilizer Rate
		HYV	Hybrid	(DAP in kg)
0.25	250	10	3.75	5
0.5	500	20	7.5	10
0.75	750	30	11.25	15
1	1000	40	15	20
1.25	1250	50	18.75	25
1.5	1500	60	22.5	30
1.75	1750	70	26.25	35
2	2000	80	30	40

Land preparation

Prepare the land well

When possible plow immediately after the previous harvest- especially if the soil is still moist. First or primary plowing: Use a disc or moldboard plow to kill weeds and incorporate trash, at least 30 days before planting – maximum depth needed 10-15 cm. (4-6in). Second plowing: Plow across the field with the disc or tine harrow at least twice to produce small soil clod sizes. Second plowing should be 14-20 days before planting and the last harrowing or puddling 7 days before planting. Maximum depth should be 5-8cm (2-3in). A level field should have 1cm slope /100m length and 1 cm side slope. Final soil puddling for rice should be done at least 1-2 days before transplanting.

Bund and levi management

Repair bunds: Destroy rat burrows and repair any holes and cracks and re-compact the bunds. Bunds should be at least 0.4m high and 0.8m wide. Leveling the field will give better water coverage, better crop establishment and better weed control.

Crop establishment

Crops can be established using dry seed, pre-germinated seed and seedlings. The most suitable planting technique depends on locality, soil type, and crop ecosystem. Crops can be direct seeded by hand broadcasting, dibbling, line sowing or drill-seeding using a machine in both wet and dry soil. Transplanted crops can be established manually, either in rows or randomly, or by machine. Direct seeded crops tend to mature faster than transplanted crops but often face more competition from weeds.

Transplanting

Uproot the seedlings from the nursery with care to avoid damage. The age of uprooting of the nursery will depend on the variety and the type of transplanting to be followed.

For short and medium duration to be manually transplanted uproot seedlings between ages of 18-20 days.
For long duration varieties, uproot seedlings between ages of 25-40 days.

Manual

For uniform spacing, use ropes as guides to establish the crop in regularly-spaced lines. Use an inter-row spacing of 20 cm and inter-plant spacing of 10 cm. Transplant seedlings in an upright position at a soil depth of 1.5 to 3 cm. Transplant 2 to 3 seedlings per hill. For uniform spacing, use planting guides made of jute rope with appropriate spacing. Maintain alley ways for ease of operation.

Mechanical

Rice seedlings can also be transplanted using a self-propelled mechanical transplanter. Seedlings needs to be raised in mats for mechanical transplanting, and need to be at an ideal a height of 18-20 cm in 15 days for the fingers of the transplanter to pick them up easliy from the mat.

Direct seeding

Dry direct seeding

This method is usually practiced for rainfed and deepwater ecosystems. Farmers sow onto dry soil surface, then incorporates the seed either by plowing or harrowing.

Broadcasting

Broadcast 60−80 kg of seeds uniformly by hand or in furrows in 1 ha of field.
Make shallow furrows by passing a furrower along the prepared field.
After broadcasting, cover the seeds using a spike-tooth harrow.

Drilling

Precision equipment, such as the Turbo Happy Seeder, can be used to drill seeds.
Drill 80−100 kg of seeds per ha.
Seeds are placed by the machine into both dry and moist soil, and then irrigated. A smooth, level seedbed is necessary to ensure that seeds are not planted at depths greater than 10−15 mm.
In this technique, fertilizers can be applied at the same time as the seed. Manual weeding also is easier in machine-drilled crops than in broadcast crops.

Dibbling

Dibbling or hill planting is usually practiced along mountain slopes or where plowing and harrowing are difficult.
Use a long wood or bamboo pole with a metal scoop attached at the end for digging holes.
Drop the seeds into the holes and cover them with soil.

Wet direct seeding

In wet fields, direct seeding can be done either through broadcasting or drilling seeds into the mud with a drum seeder.

Broadcasting

Broadcast 80−100 kg per ha of pre-germinated seeds to recently drained, well-puddled seedbeds or into shallow standing water.
If water in the field is muddy, allow 1−2 days for it to dry before broadcasting.
If water is drained from the fields after broadcasting, seeds are re-introduced 10−15 days after first seeding.

Drum seeding

Drum seeders are used for fast planting. It operates best on a well-leveled, smooth, and wet seedbed. However, seeders may be clogged if the soil is sticky or if the machine is poorly designed.
Prepare 80 kg of pre-germinated seeds per ha

Fertilizer application

Apply fertilizer as per the recommendation given. Use a tool like the rice crop manager to generate the recommendation for your variety.

Short duration

Medium duration

Long duration

Pest and disease management

Crop problems can be caused by other living organisms, like rats and fungus, or by non-living factors, such as wind, water, temperature, radiation, and soil acidity

When to monitor

Stage	What to look for/expect
Nursery	Caterpillars, deficiency symptoms
Active tillering/ booting	Blight, Blast, Bacterial leaf blight, Brown plant hopper, stem borers, swarming caterpillars
Panicle initiation	Blight, Blast, Bacterial leaf blight, Brown plant hopper, stem borers, swarming caterpillars
Grain filling	False smut, panicle blast, Brown plant hopper, stem borers, swarming caterpillars
Harvesting	Birds, rats
Storage	Rats and other storage pests

Management

Rice crops should be checked regularly for insects and disease outbreaks. Use a mobile application like the Rice Doctor to identify your pest and diseases. Control measures should be only be applied when pest numbers reach an economic threshold level.

The best control for pests and disease problems is prevention. To limit pest and disease damage:
Practice good cleaning of equipment and field between seasons
Use clean seeds and resistant varieties
Plant at the same time as your neighbors
Do not over apply fertilizer
Encourage natural pest enemies
Do not apply pesticide within 40 days of planting
Properly store grain

Weed management

Use rice seed that is not contaminated with weed seeds.
Keep your nursery weed free
Prepare and level your field well and make sure that the field is weed free at transplanting.
Control weeds when they are small and during the early stages of crop growth
If using manual or mechanical methods such as the cono weeder, control weeds at 15 and 30 days after transplanting (DAT)
If using chemical methods, pre-emergence herbicides like butachlor, or pretilachlor or pendimethalin, or oxadiargyl at 2-3 DAT (in standing water) or post-emergence herbicides like bispyribac sodium, or pyrazosulfuron ethyl at 10-15 DAT or 2,4-D ethyl ester at 20-25 DAT, alone or their appropriate combination can be used.
Use flat fan nozzle with a multiple nozzle boom for application of herbicide.
When applying herbicides, follow the indicated safety guidelines and labelled rate recommendations.

Water management

Flood after transplanting. Maintain shallow water (2-3 cm depth) upto the third stage of panicle development. Drain water one week before harvest.

When to harvest

Check crop moisture levels -The optimal stage to harvest rice seed is between 20-25% grain moisture or when 80-85% of the grains are straw colored and the grains in the lower part of the panicle are in the hard doe stage. This is about 30 days after flowering.

Cutting

Cut crop when 80-85% of the grains are straw-colored. Grains in the lower part of the panicle should be in the hard dough stage (approximately 30 days after flowering). Harvest at 20-25% moisture content.

Threshing

Freshly cut crop should be threshed and dried within 24 hours after cutting. Avoid field drying or prolonged stacking whenever possible as this results in high losses from insects, birds, rodents, disease, and molds.

Drying

If mechanical dryers are not available, sun dry paddy on mats, plastic sheets, or canvas to avoid direct contact and absorption of moisture from the ground. Paddy should be spread in a layer 4 cm deep or less. Mix the grain once every 30 minutes for even drying. Avoid high grain temperatures (above 43°C) and prevent re-wetting of grain from rain or dew.

Storage

Store in a dry and clean area, preferably in a sealed or hermetic container. Recommended moisture content for storing is ∠14% for grains and ∠12% for seed.

For seed production

Follow production practices as for grain. Certain extra precautions need to be followed.

Roguing

Rouging is the removal of all off-types or mixtures of plants from the seed production field. Rouging is extremely important to prevent pollen from off-type plants causing damage to the crop through cross-pollination. Plants with heterogeneous characters in a seed production plot are off-types.

Sources of off-types

Volunteer plants from a previous crop
Natural out-crossing, or mutation
Minor genetic variation in the seed used
Developmental variation, and
Mechanical mixtures during postharvest of the seed creation.

Identifying off-types

Off-types can be identified by observing the characteristics of plants:

Plants taller or shorter than most of the population
Plants with different color leaves, sheaths or straw
Presence or absence of awns: if the existence of awns in a plant is different from the rest of the population, it is an off-type
Plants with earlier or later panicle emergence are off-types: Only plants that flower within 2-3 days should be kept
Angle of the lag leaf: If erect flag leaves are dominant in a crop, then horizontal or droopy leaves are off-types.
Inconsistent size, shape or color of grains: If most of the panicles have long grains then those with medium grains are off-types. If slender grains are dominant, then bold grains are off types
Diseased- or insect-damaged plants.

When to rogue

Active tillering, panicle initiation and 50% flowering are important stages to rogue.

Seed conditioning

After post harvest management, when the seeds are ready to be packed, the seed needs to be conditioned to meet the standards of seed certification. Malformed, discolored, germinated, broken or moldy grains in seed lots can severely impact seed quality, viability and vigor.

Seed cleaning

A seed cleaner uses a combination of winnowing with a fan to remove lighter particles (e.g. empty grains) and sifting with sieves on an oscillating screen to remove particles that are smaller (e.g. weed seeds) and larger particles (e.g. straw).

Seed grading

For commercial seed processing, seed grains should have uniform size and weight. A variety of commercial equipment can be used to achieve uniformity in seed size and shape. These include gravity tables, rotary screens, indented cylinders, and length graders.

Seed purity

Maintain seed purity by preventing mixing with other varieties, and contamination with other species.

Samples and Sampling of Seeds

Soon after completion of the seed processing or after seed treatment as the case may be, the Certification Agency shall draw a representative composite sample as per procedure specified in Seed Testing Manual. The quantity of seed samples so drawn shall be sufficient to provide three samples of the size of submitted sample. The composite sample will be divided into three equal parts, and one shall be sent for analysis to a notified Seed Testing Laboratory, the second part to the seed producer and retain the third part as a guard sample.

Seed Analysis Report

The Seed Testing Laboratory shall analyse the seed samples in accordance with the prescribed procedure and deliver the Seed Analysis Report to the Certification Agency as soon as may be, but not later than 30 days from the date of receipt of the samples unless the seed is subjected to such tests which require more than 30 days for completion of the test.