Drought Management Options for Rainfed Upland Rice in Eastern Uttar Pradesh

A field experiment was conducted at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi during Kharif season from 2000 to 2006 in order to characterize drought as well as relevant management practices for upland rice. It was observed that late season drought coinciding reproductive phase was most common while dry spells during early stages of the crop growth seldom occur. Mean yield data of seven years revealed that dry spells during early stages followed by light shower could be easily managed with an application of additional amount of 10 kg N/ha as topdressing resulting in maximum rice yield followed by straw mulching. However, one protective irrigation from harvested water was found significantly superior in enhancing grain yield of rice in the event of season drought.