Response of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa) to date of planting, spacing and seedling rate during wet season

A field experiment was conducted at Bhubaneshwar during wet season of 1999 and 2000, to find out the response of hybrid rice ‘Pro Agro 6201’ to 3 dates of planting (16, 31 July and 16 August), 3 spacings (20 cm x 15 cm, 20 cm x 10 cm and 15 cm x 15 cm) and 2 seedling rates (1 and 2 seedlings/hill). Planting the crop on 16 July recorded the highest grain yield, which declined by 5.5 and 24.3% due to 15 and 30 days delay in planting respectively. Yield did not vary significantly due to spacing during the first year. During the second year, planting the crop with a closer spacing of 20 cm x 10 cm yielded significantly more than that with wider spacing of 20 cm x 15 cm. Planting 2 seedlings/hill was beneficial with yield advantage of 8.2% over 1 seedling/hill.