2. What is crop establishment?
• It is a sequence of events that
includes seeding,seed
germination,seedling emergence
and development to the stage
where the seedling could be
expected to grown to maturity.
• It is a complex interaction.
3. Crop establishment techniques
Crops can be established using
• dry seed
• pre‐germinated seed
• seedlings.
Planting technique depends on:
• Locality
• Soil type
• Crop ecosystem
Crops can be direct seeded by:
• Hand broadcast
4. • Dibbling
• Line sowing
• Drilled 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.
5. Broadcasting seedlings
• In some irrigation areas especially in China,
12‐ 15day old seedlings are broadcast into
standing water. This can be done manually or
by machine. The seedlings are established in
bubble trays with sand or loam at seeding
rate of 30‐40kg/ha.
6.
7. Dry broadcast seediing
• In many rainfed and deep water ecosystems, dry
seed is still manually broadcast onto the soil
surface and then incorporated by plowing or
harrowing while the soil is still dry.
• This is a very inefficient way to establish a rice
crop with a lot of seed lost to birds and rodent
and heavy completion from weeds.
• Seeding rates are normally very high, 150‐250kg
/ha, and yields are generally quite low at
1‐1.5t/ha.
9. Wet broadcasting seeding
• In many irrigated and more reliable rainfed areas,
pre‐germinated seed is broadcast into 2‐5cm of standing water.
• Seeding rates vary from 80‐120kg/ha and 1 person can plant 1
ha/day. Standing water levels are normally allowed to recede
after seeding and water not added until the seedlings are 1‐2
leaf stage.
• For this system to work effectively, fields must be level and
have good drainage system.
• Weeds will need to be controlled with 21 days after
establishment especially if a pre‐emergent herbicide has not
been applied.
• This can be a very effective system for crop establishment, if
there is a shortage of labor at planting, weeds can be managed
and water controlled
10. Dibble planting and line seeding
• In many upland environments, rice is
established using dibbling or line sowing.
• Dry seeds are place into a dry seed bed in lines
or at set spacing and then covered for
protection.
• Germination occurs after rain and weeds along
with soil borne microbes are a major problem.
• Crop rotations may be required to overcome
them. Planting rates will vary from
100‐200kg/ha.
11. Dry machine seeding
• In many parts of the world rice is now
planted using a seed drill.
• A smooth, level seedbed is necessary to
ensure that seeds are not planted at depths
greater than 10 to 15 mm.
12. • . A benefit of drill seeding is that fertilizer can
be applied at the same time as the seed.
• Both manual and mechanical weeding is
much easier in machine‐drilled crops than in
broadcast crops.
13.
14. Wet machine seeding
• There are seed drills available that can plant into wet
and puddled soils.
• The soil surface must be level and the seed bed of
even depth.
• These drills meter and deliver pre‐germinated or dry
seed, into a groove or furrow which is then covered
by a small amount of sand or fine soil and fertilizer
can also be applied at the time of planting.
• This machine takes advantage of soil puddling but can
only be used on tractors which have narrow steel
wheels.
15. Transplanting
• Transplanting is the most common method of
crop establishment for rice in
Asia. Rice seedlings grown in a nursery are
pulled and transplanted into puddled and
leveled fields 15 to 40 days after seeding
(DAS). Rice seedlings can either
be transplanted manually or by machine.
16. Manual and Mechanical transplanting
• Manual transplanting of rice seedlings into
puddled fields is still widely practiced.
• Transplanted crops require less seed, are better
able to compete against weeds but require
much more labor to establish.
• In areas where labor is becoming a problem,
mechanical transplanters are starting to become
popular.
• The soil type often determines how soon the
seedlings need to be transplanted after final
working.
17. • In areas where there has been insufficient rain,
transplanting may also be undertaken in non‐flooded
soil by using a stick to create the hole to implant the
seedling.
• Pulling and transplanting of seedlings is very labor
intensive.
• Depending on soil type, one hectare of rice requires
30 to 40 person days to establish.
• Seedlings are normally hand transplanted 20 ‐25 cm
apart.
• The range is normally 15 to 30 cm with 2‐3 seedlings
placed in each hill.
18.
19. Mechanical transplanting
• In Asia, a number of different transplanters are now being
used to establish rice crops.
• Machines range in size from a two‐row, walk‐behind
models to eight‐row, ride‐on models.
• Land must be well prepared for machine transplanting.
• Fields may need to be drained one or two days longer
than they are for hand transplanting to stop seedlings
floating.
• Most mechanical transplanters place seedlings in rows
either 20‐30 cm apart with in‐row spacing determined by
ground speed or head speed of the transplanter.
20.
21. Parachute rice transplanting
• The “parachute rice transplanting technique” involves
planting of seedlings in a nursery under flexible
plastic trays.
• That trays have tiny holes at the bottom to facilitate
movement of water and nutrients from the soil below
into soil plugs through capillary action.
• The trays are then taken out for transplantation onto
the paddy fields,where the young plants could be
thrown out sporadically.
• The heavy base of each young paddy plant ensures
that it would not land upside down.
22.
23. SRI method
• The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a
methodology aimed at increasing the yield
of rice produced in farming.
• It is a low water, labor-intensive, method
that uses younger seedlings singly spaced
and typically hand weeded with special tools.
• It was developed in 1983 by
the French Jesuit Father Henri de
Laulanié in Madagascar.
24.
25. Drum seeding technique
• Drum seeding technique involves direct
seeding of pre-germinated paddy seeds in
drums made up of fibre material to dispense
seeds evenly in lines spaced at 20 cm apart in
puddled and levelled fields.
• About 35 to 40 kg paddy seed/ha is soaked
overnight in water and allowed to sprout.
Care should be taken not to delay sowing as
seeds with long shoot growth are not
suitable for drum seeding.
26.
27. • The sprouted seed is air-dried in shade briefly
(<30 minutes) prior to sowing for easy
dispensing through the holes in the drum
seeder.
• Drums are filled with sprouted seeds (3/4th
full) and pulled across the field maintaining a
steady speed for evenly sowing.
• Number of drums could vary between 4 and
8 with number of lines sown ranging from 8
to 16 in one pass.
28. • However, heavy rainfall immediately after
sowing is likely to wash away the newly sown
seeds. As the seedlings grow, water level in the
field can rise for better weed control.
• Intermittent irrigation is given till the panicle
initiation stage.
• Where weed problem is severe, herbicide is
applied.
• Line sowing permits operation of modified
conoweeder (width between wheels reduced to
15 cm instead of 25 cm) between the rows in
the same direction adopted for drum seeding.
29. • Drum seeding in one ha area can be completed
in 5 to 6 hours time by three persons compared
to transplanting operation which requires
about 30 to 40 man days.
• This technique can help in saving seed, water,
labour requirement apart from improving
productivity because of line sowing (spacing of
20 cm between rows) and early maturity of
crop (by 7-10 days).
• Drum seeding reduces the cost of cultivation as
it does away with the requirement for raising
paddy nursery and transplanting thereafter.
30. Aerobic rice
• Aerobic rice is a production system in which
especially developed “aerobic rice” varieties
are grown in well-drained, non-puddled, and
nonsaturated soils.
• With appropriate management, the system
aims for yields of at least 4-6 tons per
hectare.
31.
32. Zero tillage DSR
• DSR is an alternative crop establishment
method for rice where seeds are sown
directly without raising them in a nursery,
and can be done in zero-tillage conditions