direct seeded rice technology in western indo-gangetic plains of india: csisa experiences

7/29/2019 Direct seeded rice technology in Western indo-gangetic plains of India: CSISA experiences

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Correct Cit ation

Kamboj, B.R., Kumar, A,. Bishnoi, D.K., Singla, K., Kumar, V. , Jat, M.L., Chaudhary, N., Jat,

H.S. , Gosain, D.K., Khippal , A., Garg, R., Lat hw al, O.P. , Goyal, S. P. , Goyal, N.K., Yadav,

A., Malik, D.S., Mishra, A. And Bhat ia, R. 2012. Dir ect Seeded Rice Technology i n West er n

Indo-Ganget ic Pl ains of India : CSISA Exper iences . CSISA, IRRI and CIMMYT. 16 pp.

The Cereals Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) is mandated to

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institutions of IRRI, CIMMYT, IFPRI and ILRI and supported by USAID, and

The Bil l and Melind a Gat es Foundation.

© This publicat ion is a product of Cereal Syst ems Init iat ive f or Sout h Asia (CSISA) and copyri ghted

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Direct Seeded Rice Technology inWestern Indo-Gangetic Plains of

India : CSISA Experiences

B.R. Kamboj , Anil Kumar, Dalip Kumar Bishnoi, Kapil Singla, Virender Kumar,

M.L. Jat, Neelam Chaudhary, H.S. Jat, D.K. Gosain, Ani l Khippal,

Rajbi r Garg, O.P. Lathwal, S.P. Goyal, N.K. Goyal, Ashok Yadav, D.S. Malik,

Arun Mishra and Rajesh Bhat ia

Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA)International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT)

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

CG Block, National Agricul t ural Science Cent re (NASC) Compl ex,DPS Marg, New Delhi 110 012, Ind ia

May 2012

CSISA Technical Bullet in 2012/1



Authors

B.R. Kamboj : Hub co ord inat or, CSISA, Haryana

Anil Kumar : Extension Agronomist, Internat ional Plant Nutr i t ion Inst i tute ( IPNI) ,CSISA, Har yana

Dalip Kumar Bishnoi : Assistant Research Scien t ist (Agril Econom ics), CIMMYT-Indi a

Kapi l Singla : Assistant Scien t ist, CSISA, Haryana hub

Vir ender Kumar : Research Platform Coordinator, CSISA Karnal, IRRI India

M.L. Jat : Senior Cropping Systems Agronomist, CIMMYT, Delivery Coordinator,

CSISA, Indi a & Paki st an

Neelam Choudhary : Hub Comm unicat ion Plat f orm Manager, CSISA, CIMMYT-Indi a

H.S. Jat : Seni or Scien t ist (Agronom y), CSSRI, Karnal, Haryana

D.K. Gosain : Coordinator, KVK, NDRI, Karnal, Haryana

Anil Khippal : Dist ri ct Ext ension Speci ali st s (Agronom y), KVK, CCSHAU, Kait hal

Rajbir Garg : Senior District Extension Specialists (Agronomy), KVK, CCSHAU,

Panaipat

O.P. Lathwal : Senior District Extension Specialists (Agronomy), KVK, CCSHAU,

Kurukshetra

S.P. Goyal : Seni or Coord inat or, KVK, CCSHAU, Kuru kshet raA.S. Dahiya : Senior Coordinator, KVK, CCSHAU, Panipat

N.K. Goyal : Coordinator, KVK, CCSHAU, Yamunanagar

Ashok Yadav : Prof essor (Weed Scien ce), Depart me nt of Agrono my, CCSHAU, Hisar

D.S. Mali k : Joint Director, Departm ent of Agr icul t ure, Govt of Haryana

Arun Mishra : Manager Business Development, Bayer Crop Science, Haryana

Rajesh Bhat ia : National Manager, Govt Affairs, DevGen Seeds and Crop Technologies

Limi ted



Contents

Executive Summary 1

1. Introduction 3

2. CSISA Haryana hub: an int roduct ion 3

3. About the t ravelling seminar 4

3.1. Part -1 Field visit 4

3.1. 1. Visit of CSISA research pl at f orm , CSSRI (On-st at ion sit e) 4

3.1. 2. Visit t o Modipur and Taraori (On-farm sit e) 5

3.2. Part -2 Round t abl e di scussion 6

4. Technological package of DSR for nor th-western IGP 9

4.1. Laser land levell ing 9

4.2. Soi l t ype 9

4.3. Field/ seedbed preparat ion 10

4.4. Plant ing dat es 10

4.5. Cult ivar select ion 10

4.6. Crop est ablishment 10

4.7. Seed rate, seeding dept h and seed t reatm ent 104.8. Sow ing machi nes 10

4.9. Fert i l izer management 11

4.10.Efcientandeconomicalweedmanagement 12

Cult ural met hods 12

Chemical met hods 13

Physical cont rol 13

4.11. Water management 14

5. Lessons learnt 14

6. Potent ial const raints 15

7. Future research needs 16

References 16



CSISA Techn ical Bullet in 2012/ 1 | iv



Direct Seeded Rice Technology in WesternIndo-Gangetic Plains of India : CSISA Experiences

Execut ive Summary

This bul let in summarizes the exper iences

of direct seeded rice (DSR) during CSISA,

phase-I (2009-2011) as well as outcomes of a

mult i s takeholder t ravel l ing seminar on dry

direct seeded rice (DSR) organized by Cereal

Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA)

Haryana Hub on 20 t h Sept ember 2011. About 70

stakeholders of CSISA Haryana hub including

scientists from Central Soil Salinity Research

Institute (CSSRI) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s

(KVKs), ofcers from State Department of

Agriculture, agriculture extension ofcers

f rom pr ivate sector, members of Technical

Working Group (TWG) of Haryana hub, local

machine manufac turers , and par t ic ipat ing

farmers gathered together to share their

exper iences on DSR. The under lyi ng obj ect iveswere to ( i ) v is i t on- farm and on-s tat ion

trials on DSR in Karnal distr ict of Haryana

for part ic ipatory assessment and learning

of performance and potent ial i ly of DSR, ( i i )

create awareness about DSR technology,

( i i i ) fac i l i ta te in terac t ion among d i f ferent

stakeholders who are engaged in developing,

reningandout-scalingofDSRtechnologyand

share exper i ences, ( iv) summarize and updat e

t echnological package of DSR for Haryana, (v)

identify constraints associated with DSR, and

(v i) ident i fy the future research needs.

The travel l ing seminar was strategical ly

s t ruc tured in to two par ts ; ( i ) v is i t farmer

participatoryDSReldsaswellason-station

st rat egic research t r ial s on DSR and (i i ) a roun d

table discussion by all stakeholders. During

eldvisit,atotalofthreesiteswerecovered,

including one on-station site (CSISA Research

Platform at CSSRI, Karnal) and two farmer’s

part ic ipatory conservat ion agr icul ture (CA)

modules establ ished with innovat ive farmer

cooperatives at vi l lage clusters of Taraori and

Modipur of Karnal district. At CSISA ResearchPlatform, performance of zero-t i l l (ZT) DSR

under double ZT systems was elucidated

to the par t ic ipants . In addi t ion, t r ia ls on

weed management and var ietal screening

for DSR condit ions were br iefed. At farmer

part ic ipat ory CA modules at Modipur & Taraor i ,

part ic ipants were exposed to large scale

dem onst rat ions on DSR and adapt ive r esearch

tr ials on di f ferent component technologies of

DSR (var iet al evaluat i on, weed management ,water management and nut r ient management)

conducted through farmer cooperat ives in

collaboration with CSISA hub and partners.

Based on large number of demonstrations on

DSRusingsupernevarietiesandhybridsof

r ice condu ct ed in 8 hub distr ict s across 3 years

(2009-2011), itwas veriedthat grainyield

of DSR in comparison to puddled transplanted

r ice w as ei t her s imi lar or higher wi t h US$ 128-

137/hahighernetprotability.Demonstration

on DSR under double ZT system at vi l lageTaraori was also highly appreciated as the

populat ion of earthworms and vermicast was

v isib le on t he p lot . Al l t he par t ic ipants were

impressed with the performance of DSR and

potential benets it can endow on farmers

l i ke savings in l abour, wat er ( 20-25%), and

cost o f cu l t ivat ion.



CSISA Techni cal Bull et in 2012/ 1 | 2

During round table discussion on DSR at CSSRI

Karnal, Dr. D. K. Sharma (Director, CSSRI &

TWG Chair, CSISA Haryana) highlighted the

importance of DSR whi le elaborat ing the

issues of decl ining water table due to over

exploi t at ion of ground w ater, labour scarc i ty,escalat ing cost of cul t ivat ion and deter i orat ing

soi l health under current management

pract ices of r ice-wheat cropping system.

CSISA Hub coor din at or, Haryana) w hil e sharing

the joint experience of CSISA and partners on

DSR in Haryana, presented the summary of

the technological package of DSR for North-

western IGP including Haryana for discussion

and nalization of the recommendations of

DSR package for large scale delivery. This was

based on the out comes of f armers’ part i c ipatoryadaptation and demonstrations of DSR and its

component technologies in Haryana in CSISA

phase-I during past 3 years (2009-2011).

Approaching the consensus, everyone

conrmed that precise land levelling

with laser land level ler , e f fec t ive weed

management , prec ise sowing depth and t ime

of sowing are crit ical for the success of DSR.

The DSR technology may also play vital role

in recharge of ground wat er and reduc t i on in

water runof f dur ing heavy ra in fa l l . Par tners

f rom publ ic (KVK’s, ICAR, CCSHAU) and pr ivat e

sector (DevGen seeds, Bayer, HKB) shared

their exper iences on DSR and advocated i ts

large scale promot ion. Par t ic ipat ing farmersalso shared t heir exp er iences and f ound weed

control being the most chal lenging task in

DSR and t hus achiev ing opt imal weed cont rol

a route to i ts success. They exper ienced

that pre and pos t -emergence herb ic ide

appl icat ion is impor tant to manage weeds

effect ively in DSR. The issue of poor crop

establ ishment due to sudden rainfal l soon

after sowing was also put up by some of the

farm ers. Al l par t ic ipant s very much convinced

about DSR, pledged to make i t a revolut ion

in Haryana, and hence emphasized the

access to l i terature on technology package

for DSR. Finally, the partic ipants suggested

that toattainpotential benetsoftheDSR

technology,furtherrenementsofsomeofthe

component t echnologies for example var ie ta l

development for DSR, water management,

nut r ient management etc needs immediate

effor ts of the researchers.




1. IntroductionSouth Asian countries comprising India,

Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, having a total

geographical area of 437.45 mil l ion ha (3.26%

of world geographical area), hold about 1.58

bi l l ion populat ion (about a quarter of wor ldpopulat ion). The t otal r ice-wheat product ion in

these countries is 314.5 million tonnes, about

25% of wor ld f ood pr oduct ion (FAO, 2010). The

agricultural scenario in South Asian countries

during the mid- 1960s to 1990 was in favour of

high input and high productivity technology,

which resulted in production enhancement to

meet food grain demand of the accelerating

population. However, the decade of 1990-

2000 witnessed over-exploitation, causing

widespread deterioration in soil and water

resources. The conventional systems created

problems of high product ion cost , l ow input -use

efciency,declineingroundwater,deterioration

in soil healt h, and environment al pollut ion. The

int ensive use of w ater i n conventi onal puddled

transplanted rice (CT-TPR) cultivation in

northwest IGP is depleting aquifers at the rate

of 11-13 km 2 annually. Therefore, it has been

imperative to use conservation agricultural

t echniques for sust ained product ion.

Rice is the maj or Kharif crop of India covering

42.8 mi l l ion ha amount ing to 85.7 mi l l ion

tonnes of production (India.gov.in, 2012).

Haryana contributes more than 1 mil l ion ha

area under r ice cul t ivat ion. The demand of

cereals to meet the food requirements of the

burgeoning population is increasing while on

t he other hand most v i tal input s of agr icul t ure

vi z . w ater and labour are deplet i ng in the area.

The conventional system of r ice production(CT-TPR) in t his region is basicall y wat er, labou r

and energy intensive, adversely affecting the

environment Therefore, t o sustain t he long term

productionofrice,moreefcientalternative

methods of r ice productions are needed.

For this, Dry direct Seeded Rice (DSR) is the

technology which is water, labour and energy

efcientalongwitheco-friendlycharacteristics

and can be a potential alternative to CT-TPR

(Kumar and Ladha 2011).

The travell ing seminar is a regular activity of

CSISA t o help in t he di ssemi nati on of t he new

t echnologies, demonst rate t he socio-economicand biophysical impacts of the emerging

technologies and generate new ideas for the

renement and upscaling of technologies in

a farmers ’ part ic ipatory mode. The seminar

prov ides a unique opportunity to al l the

partic ipants to discuss about the advantages,

component technology management and

constraints to promote wider adoption of DSR.

The object ives of t he seminar were t o:

Visit on-farm and on-station tr ials on DSR

in Karnal distr ict of Haryana to assess the

potential and performance of DSR,

Increase aw arene ss about DSR tech nolo gy,

Faci l i tate interact ion among di f ferent

stakeholders involved in studies related to

DSR

Summarize technological package of DSR

for Haryana,

Identify constraints associated with DSR,

an d

Ident i f y the fut ure research needs

The travel l ing seminar was div ided into two

parts. Thepart-1was eld visitofboth on-

farm and on-st at ion demonst rat i ons/ t r ials on

various aspect s rel ate d t o DSR. The part -2 was

a round t able m ult i-stakeholder s discussion on

DSR technology.

2. CSISA Haryana Hub-Anintroduction

CSISA Haryana Hub (CSISA Hub #3) has been

operat ionalized in 7 distr ict s of Trans-Gangetic

plain in Haryana (Karnal, Krukshet ra, Ambala,

Kaithal, Panipat, Sonepat, Yamuna Nagar)

and 2 distr icts of Upper-Gangetic plain in




(Map source: CSISA hub charact eri zat i on r eport by HCP-aWhere)

Figure 1. The map showing the operational area of CSISA Haryana hub

western Uttar Pradesh (Meerut, Ghaziabad)

(Figure 1) wherein r ice-wheat and wheat-

sugarcane systems were priorit ized for

roll ing-out of matured CA technologies and

ne-tuning of potential CA technologies.Monotonous and intensive cropping systems

with low system diversity, deteriorating soil

health,multiplenutrientdeciency,declining

nutrient response, residue burning, receding

ground wat er t able, l abour & energy shortages

coupled with emerging issues of cl imate

change, mismatched policy perceptions (for

example rot avat ors versus zero-ti l lage) and l ess

exist ence of publ ic-pri vate part nership for R&D

leadingtoshrinkingfarmprotabilityhavebeen

identiedaskeyproblemsinthese2croppingsystems. To address the problems of cropping

systems, delivery and adaptive research plan

hasbeendeveloped throughidenticationof

key technological interventions in consultation

with the strong publ ic and pr ivate sector

partners and Technical Working Group (TWG)

of hub and other s take holders of t he proj ect.

3. About the t ravellingseminar

Travell ing seminar was organized into two

parts. Thepart-1was eld visitofboth on-farm and on-st at ion demonst rat i ons and tr ials

on DSR. The p art -2 w as roun d t abl e discussions

on DSR technol ogy.

3.1. Part -1 (Field v isit )

During eld visit, three sites were covered

including one on-station site (CSISA Research

Platform at CSSRI, Karnal) and two farmer’s

part ic ipatory conservat ion agr icul ture (CA)

hubs est ablished at vi l l age Taraori and Modipurof Karnal dist r ic t .

3.1.1. Visit of CSISA research platform,CSSRI (On-stat ion site)

At research p lat form, par t ic ipants were

expla ined about ongoing long term c ropping

systems tr ials to address emerging problems




of labour and wat er shor tage, dec l in ing fac tor

productivity,farmprotabilityandsoilhealth.

Four scenar io t reatments vary ing in t i l lage

and crop establ ishment methods, res idue

management, and cropping systems were

inc luded ( i ) Scenar io 1 - Farmer’s pract icewi th r ice-wheat ro tat ion under convent ional

t i l lage, c rop es tabl ishment ( t ransplant ing in

r ice and broadcast ing in wheat) , and res idue

management (rem oved), ( i i ) Scenar io 2 - Best

integrated crop and resource managed r ice-

wheat-mungbean rotat ion, ( i i i ) Scenar io 3 -

Best integrated crop and resource managed

r ice-wheat-mungbean rotat ion wi th zero-

t i l lage, d i rec t seeding and retent ion of c rop

res idue to deal with the r is ing scarc i ty of

labour, water, energy and deter iorat ing soi lhealt h and changing c l imat e, and ( iv) Scenar io

4–Futuristicanddiversiedcroppingsystems

with bes t in tegrated c rop and resource

managed maize-wheat-mungbean rotat ion

wi t h zero- t i l lage, d i rec t seeding and retent ion

of crop res idue to deal with r is ing scarc i ty of

labor, w ater, energy, det er ior at i ng soi l healt h

and changing c l imate. Part ic ipants showed

thei r in teres t and were impressed wi th

the performance of DSR under cont inuous

ZT systems. Dr. Virender Kumar, Research

Platform Coordinator also br iefed aboutthe on-going research on water and weed

management and breeding r ice var ie t ies

appropr ia te for mechanized d i rec t -seeding

condit ions.

3.1.2. Visit to Modipur and Taraori (On-farm sites)

At farmer part ic ipatory CA hub at Modipur

and Taraori, partic ipants were exposed to

large scale demonstrations on DSR conducted

t hrough farm er’s societ ies. Result s of adapt iveresearch tr ials on var ietal evaluat ion, weed

management, water management and

nutrient management conducted by CSISA

were also explained. At these s i tes farmers

as well as other partners raised queries l ike

whether there are special var iet ies sui ted

Figure 2. View of Field Visi t dur i ng tr avel l ing semi nar on DSR




to DSR condit ions, how to manage weeds

effect ively and how much water is saved by

growing r ice under direct-seeding method.

Dr. B.R. Kamboj showed the performance

of di f ferent herbic ide molecules in terms of

weed control and told that Pre-emergence(topstar or pendimethal ine) fol lowed by

post-emergence (bispyribac or azimsulfuron)

treatments were ef fect ive in control l ing most

of t he w eeds. Mr. Parde ep Kumar (DSR Growe r,

Modipur) notied that one can manage 15

acres of paddy under DSR technology with

same amount of water required for managing

10 acres of puddled transplanted r ice. At

Taraori, DSR demonstration under double

no-ti l l system, brought immense persuasion

among the part ic ipants, as the populat ionof earthworms and vermicast was visible on

the plot . The performance of crop was also

remarkablysuperiorindoubleno-tilleld.All

the Part ic ipants highly appreciated the tr ials

and demonstrations on DSR technology.

3.2. Part -2 (round table discussion)

During round table discussion on DSR at CSSRI

Karnal, Dr. D.K. Sharma (Director, CSSRI)

highlighted the importance of DSR looking at

the issues of declining water table and over

exploitat ion of under-ground wat er, r ising labourscarcit y and cost of cult ivat ion and sust ainabili t y

in rice wheat cropping system. He highlighted

thebenetsofDSRtechnologyincludingwater,

labour, time & energy savings, reduction in

cost of cult ivation as compared to puddled

transplanted rice. Dr. Sharma emphasized to

conduct more farmer partic ipatory research

trialstonetunethistechnology.Heappreciated

t he collaborati ve farmer part ic ipatory research

trials approach and expressed that suchapproach wil l be helpful in gett ing rich feedback

from the farmers to overcome the shortcoming

of t he technology. Such demonst rati on/ t r ials

wil l play a vital r ole in wi de spread adopt ion as

t hese demonstrat ions are based on t he concept

Figure 3. Number of demonst rat ions and out reach of DSR in Haryana




of “ seeing is believing” . He emphasized to

develop l i terature on DSR in Hindi for better

understanding by the farming community and

suggested to tie a partnership to achieve wider

adoption of t he t echnology.

Dr. B.R. Kamboj (Hub coordinator, CSISA)

briefed about current status and scope of DSR

in Haryana state. He shared the outcomes of

demonstrations and adaptive research tr ials

conducted during Phase-1 of CSISA by hub

partners and summarized the technological

package of DSR for Nort h-w est ern IGP including

Haryana state which is discussed in section 4.

He shared with the part ic ipants that with the

concentrated efforts of all stakeholders, area

under DSR technol ogy has increased f rom 226 ha

during Kharif 2009 t o 1614 ha durin g Kharif 2011

(Figure 2). The result s of t r ials/ demonst rat ions

conducted on DSR in experimental elds as

wellasatthefarmers’eldsclearlyjustifythis

expansion of area under DSR reveali ng reduci ngcult ivat ion cost besides addressing t he i ssues of

farm l abour short age and declining wat er t able

in rice-wheat cropping systems.

He stressed that strong public private

partnership (PPP) was the key in expanding

the area under DSR in Haryana under CSISA

proj ect . No. of DSR demonstr ati ons conduct ed

by partners increased from zero in year 1 to

898 in t hird year of t he proj ect (Table 1).

Figure 4. Adopt ion of DSR in Har yana (Map source: CSISA-HCP)

2009

2010

2011




Table 1. Number of demonstrat ions by hub and part ners

No. of DSR Demonstrations

2009 2010 2011

Hub Partner Hub partner Hub Partner

79 00 221 345 176 898

Partners : CCS Haryana Agricult ural Universit y, KVKs, St at e Agricult ure Depart ment , Bayer Crop Science,DevGen Seeds & Crop Techno logie s li mi t ed, Syngent a, DOW Agro, Har yali Kisan Bazar, Farm erCooperatives, Service providers, ICAR Institutions

Participating scientists from KVKs told that

laser level l ing, ef fect ive weed management,

date of sowing and sowing dept h are key fact ors

for success of DSR technology. Mr. Harpreet

Singh, farmer of Kalvehri vi l lage, Karnal also

supported cr i t ical role of laser level ler in

the success of DSR. Dr. S.S. Dahiya shared hisexperiencesof farmerelds’demos/trials in

detai l . He also rei terated the fact that laser

land leveling is must to improve the success

rate of DSR as uneven topography wil l lead to

poor crop establ ishment besides more water

requi rement .

Dr. Dahiya shared the results of the trails

conducted on date of sowing of DSR during

Kharif 2010, which varied from 15 t h May t o 24t h

June. The outcome was that crop of paddysown on 24 t h June w it h PUSA 1121 gave hi ghest

y ield. He fur ther explained that the farmer

was able t o harvest 15% higher w heat yield

sown after implementing DSR as compared to

wheat crop sown after puddled transplanted

rice. They observed high runoff in puddled

t ransplanted r ice at t he t im e of high rain fal ls,

however percolation was much higher in DSR

which may help in rejuvenat ion of ground

wat er. Therefor e, DSR technology on one hand

helps in saving irr igation water by avoiding

wat er for puddli ng as wel l as ponding condit ion

during crop growth season and on the other

hand works for replenishment of ground w ater

tab le.

Dr Raj bir Garg urged to conduct mor e research

t o quant if y wat er saving in DSR. He w as of t he

view t hat in puddled t ransplanted r i ce we can

not be as prec ise wit h respect t o t ransplant i ng

t ime as i t is dependent on labor avai labi l i t y but

in case of DSR wit h t he int roduct ion of mult i -

crop planter we can sow the crop on t ime.

Dr. Anil Khippal from KVK Kaithal highlighted

the importance of depth of sowing in dry andvattar condit ions. He shared that depth of

sowing may be 3-4 cm in vattar sowing but

in dry sowing should not exceed 2.5 cm. Dr.

S. P. Goyal ( KVK, Kuru kashet ra) shar ed hi s 3-4

years of experience of working with DSR. He

inform ed t he part i c ipants t hat he has observed

very lees inc idence of f oot-rot / bakani disease

in DSR compared to TPR.

Part ners fr om privat e sect or vi z . DevGen seed s,

Bayer, HKB shared their experiences on DSRand were happy wit h t he perform ance of DSR

demonstrationsconductedatfarmers’eldin

collabor at ion w it h CSISA. Dr. Raj esh Bhati a f rom

Dev Gen seeds shared his experience on DSR

work undertaken in collaboration with CSISA

and expressed contention with the success

rate dur ing Kharif 2011 compared to Kharif

2010. He explained that short durat ion hybr id

RH 257 performed equally well in DSR as in

TPR. and emp hasized t o remain m ore cauti ous

about iron & zinc deciency particularly inl ight soils in case of DSR. Furher he directed

the need t o develop ex tension l i t erature wi t h

best management pract ices to update the

knowledge of ext ension funct ionar ies of publ ic

and pr ivate sec tor w i th the new in format ion

on new chemicals for weed management,

seed rate; nutr ient management water




management and other management pract ices

whichhavebeenne-tunedbythe research

organi zat ions. Mr. S. S. Bisth f rom Haryali Kisan

Bazaar (HKB) shared that HKB has conducted

DSR demonstrations in more than 300 acres

dur ing Khar i f 2011. He told that the farmerswere happy with the performance of DSR

and desired for increase in area under this

t echnology provided f armer s have ready access

to more machines and technical knowhow

withhelpofexibleGovt.facilities.Dr.J.R.

Jat fr om Syngenta and J.S. Chauhan f rom Dow

Agro stressed on capacit y buil ding of ext ension

agents for wi der adopt i on of t he t echnology.

Partic ipating famers while sharing their

experiences highlighted that effective weed

management is the key for the success of DSR

and pre & post emergence herbicide applicat ion

are imperative to keep weed under check in

DSR. They expressed t he need for and dem anded

updated l i terature on the best management

practices of DSR in local language.

Harpreet Singh resident of vi l lage Kalvehri w ho

adopt ed t he DSR t echnology on his far m dur ing

Kharif 2011, em phasized t he need of l aser land

leveling for proper crop establishment in DSRand proper spray t echnique f or managing weed

in DSR. He t old t hat at least 200 l i t ers of w ater

per acre is requi red f or spraying pre- emer gence

herbic ides. Like wise opt imum moisture in

the eld after post emergence herbicide

appl icat ion of bispyr ibac-sodium improves i ts

efcacy.Mr.Deevansinghresidentofvillage

Kalvehri rai sed t he issue of earl y sow ing of DSR

on around 15 t h may inst ead of 15 t h June as DSR

crop needed t o be sown 20-25 days earl i er t han

transplanted crop. Responding to the query

Mr.RajbirSingh,ofcialfromDepartmentof

Agricultureclariedthatthedeadlineof15t h

June has been xed for transplanted paddy

not for DSR.

Sharing his experiences Sh. Sukhjinder Singh,

progressive farmer from Pehowa elaborated

that he has been growing DSR since kharif

2010 and opined t hat good crop establi shment

and weed management are t he key factors for

success of DSR. He adopted the technology

aft er seein g t he DSR crop at CSSRI and f arm ers’

eldduringtravellingseminar.Heexperiencedsaving of water and labor in his DSR crop

compared to convent ional puddled r ice.

4. Technological package ofDSR for north-western IGP

Based on previous experiences and the

current exper ience of work ing on DSR dur ing

Phase-1 of CSISA, technological package of

DSR f or nor t h-w est ern IGP condit ions has beensummari zed here.

4.1. Laser land leveling

The prec ise land level i ng is a pre-requi si t e for

growing successful crop of DSR which can be

achieved by laser land leveler. I t fac i l i tates

good and uni form c rop s tand, enabl ing the

farmer to apply un i form i r r igat ion, leading

to improved weed cont ro l and nut r ient use

efcienciesincomparisontotraditionallandleveling. Other benets include savings in

i r r igat ion wat er, and h igher c rop produc t iv i t y

(Jat e t a l . 2009). I t fac i l i tates seed dr i l ls /

planters to place seeds at uni form spacing

and depth and uni form d is t r ibut ion of water

hence result ing in unifor m crop st and (Kumar

and Ladha 2011) . Undulat ion in t rad i t i onal ly

leveleldsoftenleadstopoorestablishment

of DSR due to uneven depth of seeding

and uneven water d is t r ibut ion; hencefor th

precision in land leveling is rst step for

better DSR crop.

4.2. Soil typeDSR can be grown in almost all type of soils

sui table for r ice, but medium textured soi ls

are more suited to DSR.




4.3. Field/seedbed preparat ion

The method of seedbed preparat ion wi l l

depend on t i l lage method and wi l l vary for

conventi onal and conservat ion t i l l age syst ems.

For conventional till DSR, eld should be

pulver ized to maint ain good soi l m oist ure andt o maxim ize soil t o seed cont act. For ZT DSR,

existing weeds should be kil led by burning

down herbicides such as paraquat (0.5 kg ai/

ha or glyphosat e (1.0 kg ai/ ha) (Kumar and

Ladha 2011; Gopal et a l . 2010).

4.4. Plant ing dates

In nort hern w est ern IGP, r ice i s grown du ring

the monsoon season (Kharif ) when rainfal l is

high. To optimize the use of monsoon rain,the optimum time for sowing DSR is about 10-

15 days prior to onset of monsoon. Based on

the his tor ical t rend of onset of monsoon in

t he north-w est ern IGP, t he opt im um t ime of

seeding rice in the region is from June 1 to

July 20 which can go up to July 1. (Kumar &

Ladha, 2011)

4.5. Cult ivar selection

Among t he exist ing variet ies and hybrids whichare though bred for puddl ed r ice, some hybr ids

& basmat i var iet ies have been found suit able

f or DSR. These are given in Tabl e 2.

Table 2 : Rice varieties found suitable for DSR inHaryana.

Group Variet ies/ Hybr ids

Basmati Pusa-1121 (Sugandha 4), Pusa Basmat i-1,CSR-30

Coarse r ice

Hybrids : PRH-10, Arize 6129, RH 257,Arize 6444, PHB-71

Inbred var iet ies : PR-114, HKR 47

4.6. Crop establishment

For conventi onal t i l l DSR, r ice can be est abli shed

by two w ays i . e . vatt ar sowing (seeding aft er

pre-sowingirrigationateldcapacity)ordry

sowing fol lowed by l ight i r r igat ion. Vattar

Sowing or apply ing i r r igat ion j ust af t er seeding

in dry is helpful to support germinat ion and

ear ly growth when pre-monsoon showers are

insufcient. Invattarsowing, planking afterseeding helps in conserving soil moisture,

hence maximize uniform crop establ ishment.

For ZT-DSR, r ice can be dr i l led i n dry f oll owe d

by a l ight i r r igat ion for un i f orm c rop st and.

4.7. Seed rate, seeding depth andseed treatment

A seed rat e of 16-20 kg/ ha has been f ound

opt im um f or DSR. The seeding dept h for r ice is

cr i t ical and i t should not be dr i l l ed deeper than2-3 cms. Seed treatment with recommended

fungicide is necessary to manage soil born

diseases. For this weighed quantity of seeds

are soaked in water + fungicide (Bavistin

@ 1g/ kg rice seed or Emi san @ 1gm/ kg rice

seed) solut ion f or 24 hours. Amount of wat er

used for soaking is equivalent to quantity of

seed used f or seed t reatm ent. After 24 hours,

seeds are removed f rom f ungicide solut ion and

dried in shade for 1-2 hours before sowing.Seed treatment with imidaclopr id (Guicho) @

3ml/ kg seed alone t o protect f r om soi l -borne

pathogens such as termites or other insects

or in combinat ion with tebuconazole (rax i l ) @

1 ml/ kg seed to prot ect f rom both soi l borne

fungi and insects have been found ef fect ive in

improving uniform crop est abl ishment .

4.8. Sowing machines

For precise seeding, r ice should be dri l ledwithamulti-cropplanterttedwithinclined

plates seed metering systems and inverted

T-t ype t ynes (Figure 5). For ZT-DSR, wh en onl y

anchored residues are retained, then same

mult i -crop planter can be used for seeding.

However, when loose crop residues are p resent

on the soil surface, specialized machines are




needed for dr i l l ing r ice. In such s i tuat ions,

r ice can be dr i l led us ing any of the fol lowing

machines: t urbo happy seeder, rot ary disc dri l l

(Gopal e t a l . 2010; Kumar and Ladha 2011)(Figure 5).

4.9. Fert il izer management

Ferti l izer recommendation for DSR is same

as for puddled t ransplanted r ice. However, i t

is advisable to apply 12-15 kg extra N in DSR

than puddle transplanted r ice. For Haryana

condit ions, fol lowing fer t i l izer doses are

recommended for DSR:

Coarse r ice : 150 to 165 kg N/ ha, 60 kg P2O

5 /

ha, 60 kg K2O/ ha, and 25 kg Zinc sulphat e/

ha)

Basmat i r ice : 60-75 Kg N/ ha , 30 kg P2O

5an d

25 kg Zn SO4

Apply f ull dose of P, K, and ZnSO4

and 23 kg N/

ha as basal at the t ime of sowing using seed-

cum fer t i l i zer dr i l l / p lanters. The remain ing

N should be applied in three equal splits at

ear ly t i l ler ing, act ive t i l ler ing and panic le

in i t ia t ion.

Nitrogenous fert i l izers can also be managed

using leaf colour chart (LCC). Two approaches

have been recommended to apply Nitrogen

using LCC (Figure 6) :

A) Fixed t ime approach : After basal

appl icat ion of N, remaining N is appl ied at

preset t iming of act ive t i l ler i ng and panic le

init iation and dose is adjusted based on

LCC reading of N application should be

based on LCC value of 3 and 4 depending

on cult ivars.

B) Real t ime approach : Aft er basal applicati on

colour of rice leaves is monitored at regular

int erval of 7-10 days fr om active t ill ering and

Figure 5. Di f fe r ent m ach ines which can be used for seeding r ice : a ) Mul t i -crop p lanter wi t h inc l ined

plat e seed met er ing syst em, b) t urbo happy seeder




N is applied wherever leaf colour is below

critical threshold value.

For hybrids and high yielding coarse rice

varieties N application should be based on a

crit ical LCC value of 4 wh ere as f or basmat i ri ce

N should app lied at LCC crit ical value of 3.

Sometimes deciency of iron may appear

under DSR, w hich can be correct ed by applyi ng

2-3 f ol iar spr ays of 1% FeSO4

solut ion at weekly

intervals.

4.10. Efcient and economical

weed management

Integrated weed management ( IWM) approach

is needed for ef fect ive and sustainable weed

managem ent in DSR. IWM consist s of ( 1) cult ural ,(2) chemical, (3) physical (4) biological cont rol

met hods which are descr ibed below :

Cult ural Methods

Stale seedbed t echnique : In this technique,

weeds are encouraged to germin ate by giv ing

one i r r igat ion and then k i l led by e i t her a non-

select ive herbic ide (paraquat or glyphosate)

or by t i l lage pr ior to sowing of r ice. This

method has great potent ial in suppressing

we eds and i s feasibl e un der Dry-DSR because

of >1 month w indow o f fa l l ow per iod a f te r

wheat harvest and sowing of succeeding r ice

crop.

Residue mulching : Crop residues of previous

crops if left on soil surface as mulch can

suppress weeds in DSR through multiple

mechanisms, including, creating a physical

hindrance to emerging weeds or by releasing

al lelochemicals in t he soi l .

Sesbania co-cult ure : I t involves seeding rice

and sesbania crops together and then k i l l ing

sesbania with 2, 4-D ester about 25-30 DAS.

Sesbania grows rapidly and suppresses weed.This pract ice is found more effect ive in

suppr essing b roadl eaf wee ds th an grasses and

therefore i f combined wi th pre-emergence

appl icat ion of pendimet hal in , i t s per formance

in suppressing weeds increases. However,

care should be taken with pract ice as i t may

pose some r isks i f proper ly not implemented

Figure 6. Leaf Colour Chart (LCC)




inc luding (1) compet i t ion of sesbania with

r ice i f 2 , 4-D appl icat ion is inef fec t ive or i ts

appl icat ion is delayed due t o cont i nuous rain,

and (2) l imit the use of several herbic ides

(e.g. bispyr ibac) which may be helpful for

control l ing certain weeds, cannot be used inthis system without also k i l l ing the sesbania

cover crop.

Chemical methods

Pre-plant/burndown herbicides : These

herbic ides are used t o k i l l ex isi t ing veget at ion

prior to rice sowing under ZT-DSR. Glyphosate

(1.0 kg ai/ ha or 1% by volume) and paraquat (500

g ai/ ha or 0.5% by volume) are recom mended

for bur ndown appl icat ion. Clean wat er should

be used for applying these herbicides. Muddywater reduces their efcacy. If elds are

infested with perennial weeds, glyphosate

should be appl i ed inst ead of paraquat .

After crop sowing : Based on on-station

and on-farm studies, i t has been found that

pendimet hal in (st omp)/ oxadiargy l ( t op st ar)

as pre-em ergence foll owed by post -emer gence

appl icat ion of bispyr ibac or az imsulfuron or

bispyribac + azimsulfuron 15-20 DAS yielded

simi lar to weed-free condit ions. Herbic ides,

alone or in combinat ion, which have been

found eff ect ive against di f ferent weed species

are summ ari zed i n Table XXX.

Herbic ides should be appl ied us ing mult iple

(three) nozzle boom tted with at fan

nozzle.

Physical control

Physical weed control consists of removing

weed s by hand (manual weed ing) or by machines

(mechanical weeding). I t is pract ical ly and

economical ly not feasible t o control w eeds by

manual methods because of r is ing scarcity oflabour and ris ing labour wages. However, one

ortwospothandweedingsmaybejustiable

in DSR to remove escaped weeds and prevent

weed seed product ion. Mechanical weedi ng can

be useful in reducing labour use in weeding,

for this Motorized cono-weeders are available

in the region and can be included as part of

IWM. More r esearch is needed t o develop new

Table 3.Majorpre-andpost-emergenceherbicidesidentiedsuitableforweedcontrolinDSRintheIGP

Herbicide Dose

(g aiha-1)

Application

time (DAS)a

Strengths and weaknesses

Pe nd im et h al i n 1000 1- 3 Go od c on t r ol of m ost gr asse s, so me b ro ad le av es an d an nu alsedges. Has residual control. But sufcient moisture is

needed for i t s act iv i t y.

Oxadiargyl 90 1-3 Broad-spect rum w eed cont rol of grasses, broadleaves andannualsedges.Hasresidualcontrol.Butsufcientmoisture

is needed for i t s act iv i t y.

Bispyribac-sodium

25 15-25 Broad-spect rum w eed cont rol of grasses, broadleaves andannual sedges. Excellent control of Echinochloa species.But it is poor on grasses other than Echinochloa species,including L. chinensis , Dactyloctenium aegyptium , Eleusine indica , Eragrost is species . No residual contr ol .

Penoxsulam 22. 5 15-20 Broad-spect rum w eed cont rol of grasses, broad leavesand annual sedges. But it is poor on grasses other thanEchinochloa species , inc lud ing L. chinensis , D. aegypt i um ,Eleusine indica , Eragr ost is species .




Herbicide Dose(g ai

ha-1)

Applicationtime (DAS)a

Strengths and weaknesses

Fenoxaprop-e thy l

60 25 Excel l ent cont rol of annual grassy w eeds. Does not cont rolbroadleaves and sedges. Not safe on rice if applied at earlystage (before 25 DAS).

Fenoxaprop-ethyl + safner

60-90 15-20 Excel lent cont r ol of annual gr assy w eeds, saf e on r ice atearly st age. Does not cont rol b roadleaves and sedges.

Azi msul fur on 17. 5-35 15-20 Br oad-spect r um cont r ol of gr asses, br oadl eaves and sedges.Excel lent control of sedges, including Cyperus rotundus .Poor on Echinochloa species.

Et hoxysul f uron 18 15-20 Ef fect ive on broadleaves and annual sedges. Does not cont rolgrasses and poor on perennial sedges such as C. ro t undus .

Tr icl opyr 500 15-20 Ef f ect ive on broadleaf weeds. Does not cont rol grasses.

2,4-D ethylester

500 15-25 Ef f ect i ve on br oadl eaves and annual sedges. Ver y econom ical .Has no residual control.

Car f ent razone 20 15-20 Ef fect ive on broadleaf weeds. Does not cont rol grasses. Hasno residual contr ol .

Chlor imur on +metsu l fu ron

4 (2+2) 15-25 Ef f ect i ve on br oadl eaves and annual sedges. No cont r ol ofgrassy weeds and poor on C. Rot undus.

Bispyribac +azimsulfuron

25+17. 5 15- 25 Br oad -sp ec t ru m w eed cont r ol of gr asses, br oad leaves andsedges, including C. ro tundus . Poor on grasses other thanEchinochloa species.

Bispyribac +pyrazosulfuron

25+25 15-20 Br oad-spect r um w eed cont r ol of gr asses, br oadl eaves andsedges, including C. ro tundus . Poor on grasses other thanEchinochloa species.

Fenoxaprop +ethoxysul furon 56 + 18 15-25 Br oad-spect r um w eed cont r ol o f gr asses, b roadl eaves andsedge. Excel lent control of a l l major grasses, including L.

chinensis and D. aegyptium . Poor on perennial sedges suchas C. r o tundus .

Propanil +pend imetha l in

4000 +1000

1 0- 12 Br oa d- sp ec t r u m w ee d c on t r ol w i t h r esi d ual e f f e ct s. Po or o nsedges such as C. Rotundus .

(Source: Kumar and Ladha, 2011)

mechanicaltoolswhicharemoreefcientand

user f r iend ly.

4.11. Water managementIn case of DSR crop established after applying

pre-sowing irrigation (Vattar), rst irrigation

can be applied 7-10 days aft er sowing dependi ng

on the soil type. When DSR crop is established

in dry/ ZT condit ions follow ed by irr igat ion,

subsequent 1-2 irrigations are required at

interval of 3-5 days during crop establishment

phase. Subsequent irrigations at interval of

5-7 days need to be applied in DSR crop.

During active tillering phase i .e . 30-45 DAS and

reprod ucti ve phase (Panicle em ergence to grainlling stage) optimum moisture (irrigation at

2-3 days interval) is required to be maintained

to harvest optimum yields from DSR crop. It is

recommendedtoavoidwaterstressatowering;

one of t he most sensit ive st ages of r ice t o wat er

stress, frequent irrigations should be given one

weekbeforeandoneweekafterowering.




5. Lessons Learnt

Direct seeding is a v iable al ternat ive to

puddled transplant ing to overcome the

problem of labour and water short age.

Large scale adopt ion o f DSR is possibl e but

pr ior i t iz ing resources and publ ic - pr ivate -

partnership (PPP) holds the key.

Crop establ ishment determines the

success of DSR for which precise leveling

( laser level ing), qual i ty mult i crop planter

(inclined seed metering system) and

t ra ined t ractor operators are impor t ant .

Depth of seeding should be manipulated

according to soil type, establishment

method & moisture level.

DSR in doubl e no-t i l l syst em i s even bet t er

pract ice.

Short duration hybrids and basmati r ice

varieties performs better under DSR but

tailoring varieties for DSR should form the

breeding strategy for fur ther product iv i ty

gai ns in DSR.

Pre & post emergence herbic ide appl icat ion

is must for ef fect ive weed managementbut he choice of herbicides should be as

perthedominantweedora.

Inc idence of foot rot and false smut is

rem arkably l ower in DSR.

Posit ive effects on yield of succeeding

upland crops.

DSR may be helpful in recharging ground

water t ab le.

The water savings in DSR varies across

management pract ices, soi l types etc but

st i l l opt imizat ion of water sav ing have to

be worked-out in a way so as to avoid any

yield penalt y due t o wat er st ress.

Figure 7. A blooming DSR crop at mat ur i t y st age




6. Potent ial const raints

Poor crop establishment due to variable

rainfal l pattern dur ing crop establ ishment

stage.

Difcult to manage mixed weed ora

includ ing non paddy weeds l ike Leptochloa ,

Eragrostis , Dactyloctenium .

7. Future research needs

Develop sustainable and effective weed

management opt i ons employ ing integrated

approach of chemical and non-chemical

s trategies

Developing cult ivars suited to DSR for

dif f erent r ice based syst ems

Develop ir r i gat ion schedul ing for di f f erent

soil types and management practices of

DSR based systems

Understand nutrient dynamics and develop

management st rat egies includ ing dose and

appl icat ion schedul ing

Monitor GHG emissions and develop

strategies to reduce N losses vis-a-vis N2O

emissions under aerob ic condit ions

Optimizat ion of crop res idue cover needs

in syst ems’ per spect ive

Understanding pest and disease dynamics

anddenemanagementstrategiesunder

DSR

ReferencesAnon. 2012. India.gov. in/ sectors/ agr icul t ure/

area product ion y ield/ r ice.2012.

FAO - Food & Agriculture Oraganization 2010.

www.faostat. fao.org.

Gopal, Ravi, Jat, R.K., Kumar, V., Alam, M.M.,

Jat, M.L. , Mazid, M.A. , Saharawat , Y.S.,

Mcdonald, A., and Gupt a, Raj . 2010. Direct

dry seeded r ice product ion t echnology and

weed management in r ice based system.

Technical Bull et in . Internat ional Maize and

Wheat Improvement Center, New Delhi,

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Jat M.L., Gat hala M.K., Ladha J.K., Saharawat

Y. S. , Jat A. S., Kumar Vipin, Sharm a S. K.,

Kumar V. and Gupt a Raj . 2009. Evaluat ion

of Precision Land Leveling and Double

Zero-Til l Systems in Rice-Wheat Rotation:

Water use, Productivity, Protability and

Soil Physical Properties. Soil and Til lage

Research , 105, 112-121.

Jat, R.K., Mazid, M.A., haque, M.A., Islam, S.,

Rashid, H., Rahman, M.M., Rahman, M.A.,

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and Upper- Gangetic Plains. Rice-Wheat Consortium Travell ing Seminar Report

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direct seeded rice technology in western indo-gangetic plains of india: csisa experiences

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