Water Productivity, Economic Viability and Yield of Rice under Different Rice Establishment Methods

A field experiment was conducted during the kharif (2013) at Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute (TRRI), Aduthurai to evaluate the productivity and input usage of different rice establishment methods viz., wet direct seeding using drum seeder, dry direct seeding using tractor operated seed drill, and conventional transplanting. Data reveal that dry seeding using a tractor drawn seed drill utilized a lower seed rate of 30 kg/ha compared to wet seeding (37.5 kg/ha) and transplanted rice (60 kg/ha). The plant height and plant population did not exhibit significant variations across the different establishment methods. However, yield attributes like ear bearing tillers (396/m2 ) and filled grains (137/panicle) were significantly higher in transplanted rice. Nonetheless, dry seeded rice recorded a grain yield of 6040 kg/ha which was only 5.5% lower than that of transplanted rice. Notably, dry seeding conserved 32.6% of irrigation water and reduced labour requirement by 48.9% compared to transplanted rice. Moreover, dry seeded rice exhibited higher water productivity (6.40 kg/ha/mm) and a higher benefit cost ratio (2.66) as compared to other establishment methods. Therefore, considering the existing water crisis and labour shortage, the adoption of dry seeding for rice cultivation holds promise as a viable solution for farmers. This method not only addresses the challenges posed by limited water availability and the scarcity of labour but also maintains satisfactory levels of productivity