Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore - 641 003.
Non availability of labour in time, higher wages and their lower efficiency are often quoted as constraints in transplanting with manual labour leading to delay in planting and resultant sub optimal population which ultimately lowers the yield of rice crop. The practice of transplanting is being increasingly replaced by direct seeding as labour becomes scarce and cost prohibitive. Constant decline in rice yield and consequent reduction in profit is experienced in irrigated lowlands of Asia because more than 21 per cent of total cost of production is accounted for transplanting alone. Therefore, adoption of alternative rice culture, which requires less input and possible increase in yield, is highly desirable. One such alternative is wet seeded rice. Moreover, dual cropping of green manures in lowland rice combined with intercultivation, suppressed the weeds effectively increases the fertility status of the soil by legume effect thereby increases crop yield.
