Effect of direct seeded rice on yield, water productivity and saving of farm energy in reclaimed sodic soil

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted on conventional rice transplanting (TPR) and direct seeded rice (DSR) in different sets of crop establishment technique with the objective to examine water productivity and save the natural resources. The basmati rice (CSR30) produced maximum grain yield in TPR with and without residue incorporation (3.72 and 3.68t ha, respectively) followed by DSR without residue (3.67 t ha). DSR with sesbania co-culture yielded 3.50 t ha. High yielding Pusa 44 produced maximum grain yield in TPR with residue incorporation (7.66t ha) followed by TPR without residue (7.40t ha). There was no significant difference in yield of puddled and un-puddled transplanted rice. DSR in wheat stubbles resulted minimum yield (4.54t ha). DSR with sesbania brown manuring yielded 5.79 t ha. Water productivity was more in DSR compared to TPR. The maximum water saving (39.4%) was recorded in DSR with sesbania co-culture. Water productivity of rice Pusa 44 was 0.45 kg m when grown in DSR without crop residue while it was 0.43 kg m with sesbania co-culture. The maximum water saving was 32.3% in DSR with sesbania. In case of permanent raised bed, rice transplanting saved 23.3% irrigation water. DSR in different combinations saved irrigation water 30.2%, reduced diesel consumption by 42% in reduced tillage method and by 86% in zero tillage in comparison to transplanted rice. DSR technology reduced labour requirement by 24% in reduced tillage and 30% in zero tillage, whereas power saving in DSR was more than 29%.