Direct Seeding of Rice
About
- Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) refers to the practice of sowing rice seeds directly onto the main field, as opposed to the traditional method of growing seedlings in a nursery and transplanting into flooded fields. It is also known as the ‘tar-wattar’ technique.
- It aims to sow short duration and high yield varieties. It is done through DSR machines which are used for planting seeds of rice directly into the fields.
How does DSR work?
- Traditionally, paddy farmers create nurseries where seeds are first planted. After 25–35 days, the immature plants are plucked and transplanted in the flooded main field.
- While this practice is labour and water expensive, it is known to increase yields and improve crop health.
- DSR requires no nursery preparation or transplantation. Paddy seeds are directly sown, roughly 20-30 days prior to when they would have been transplanted.
- The field is irrigated and laser leveled prior to the seeding process.
- Seed treatment is crucial, with seeds soaked in a fungicide solution for eight hours, then dried for half a day before sowing.
- Laser land leveling is a laser-guided technology used to level fields by removing soil from high points of the field and depositing it in low points of the field. LLL improves crop establishment and enables crops to mature uniformly.
- The first round of irrigation is carried out 21 days after sowing, followed by 14-17 more rounds at 7-10 day intervals, depending on soil type and the quality of the monsoon. The final irrigation takes place 10 days before harvest.
- The traditional method requires 25-27 irrigations in total.
Benefits of DSR
- DSR can reduce water use by 15% to 20%.
Did you know?
- The traditional puddling method requires 3,600 to 4,125 litres of water to grow a single kilo of rice.
- It matures 7 to 10 days faster, giving farmers more time to manage paddy straw.
- DSR provides better soil physical conditions for following crops and less methane emission.
- DSR requires less labour and offers low production cost.
Challenges associated with DSR
- Weeds are the biggest significant impediment to the success of DSR.
- Weeds are more problematic in DSR than in puddled transplanting because sprouting weeds compete with simultaneously emerging DSR seedlings.
- While direct planting can help to reduce methane emissions, aerobic soil conditions can increase nitrous oxide emissions.
- Micronutrient deficiencies pose a significant challenge in DSR, as deficiencies such as low iron content in the soil can severely reduce crop yields and result in substantial financial losses for farmers.