Growth and yield of rice (Oryza sativa) cultivars under various methods and times of sowing

A field investigation was carried out during the rainy season (kharif) 2001 and 2002 at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, to establish the agronomic management practices for direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.) in loamy sand soils. The treatments included 2 methods of sowing (direct sowing and transplanting), 3 times of sowing (1 June, 10 June and 20 June – the corresponding transplanting on each date, was made 25 days after sowing) and 4 cultivars (‘PR 111’, ‘PR 115’, ‘PR 116’ and ‘IR 64’). The rainfall received during crop season (June to October) of first year was 847 mm and 332.7 mm during second year. Dry-matter accumulation, leaf-area index, effective tillers etc. under direct seeding were significantly more than transplanted rice. The productivity under direct-seeded paddy accrued was 53 q/ha (during first year 65 q/ha while in second year 40 q/ha) in loamy sand soil. The direct-seeded crop matured 10 days earlier than transplanted crop. The water productivity in di-rect-seeded rice ranged between 0.40 and 0.46 kg grain/m³ irrigation water, while under transplanting, it varied between 0.29 and 0.39 kg grain/m³ irrigation water; clearly showing the more water-use efficiency. The maximum productivity was obtained when direct-seeded crop was raised on 10 June and short-duration, early-matur-ing ‘PR 115’ variety excelled other medium- and long-duration varieties in all growth and yield determinants.