Evaluation of traditional varieties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) for yield under organic production system

Organic farming seems to be one of the best options to offer healthier food and environment in the present situation. However, non availability of promising varieties is a major constraint which inevitably makes us to shift towards traditional varieties. Rice being the major crop grown and consumed in Tamil Nadu, an attempt was made to study the yield potential of different traditional varieties of rice under organic cultivation.

The experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2020-2021 at wetland farms of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The experiment was laid out in RBD with twelve varieties replicated thrice under SRI method. The treatments consisted of twelve traditional varieties viz., Athur Kichili samba, Garudan samba, Illuppaipoo samba, Milagu samba, Poonkar, Sorna masuri, Thooya malli samba, Thanga samba, Kuzhiadichan, Kullakar, Anaikomban and Thulasi vasa samba.

The investigation revealed that significantly higher plant height, number of productive tillers, panicle weight, panicle length, fertility percentage were observed in Kuzhiadichan and Anaikomban which eventually led to higher grain and straw yield. The aforementioned varieties have also fetched higher net returns of Rs. 96,476 ha^-1 and Rs. 73,893 ha^-1, respectively indicating their suitability under organic production system.