Effective Seed Placement and Weed Management in Dry Direct Seeded Rice (DDSR) using Zero Till Seed Drill cum Herbicide Applicator

Rice is typically grown in Asia by transplanting seedlings into puddled soil (land preparation with wet tillage). With accelerated economic growth and COVID-19 outbreak with subsequent lockdown has led to the shortage of labour. There was concern among the farmers on timely completion of transplanting due to shortage of labour. Dry Direct seeded rice (DDSR) is one such technique, probably the oldest method of crop establishment, is gaining popularity because of its low-input requirement. To overcome the effect of rain on the seeds sown by DDSR technique there is a need for creating a provision for settling the seeds in place. The energy spent in the field for individual sowing and herbicide application practice can be reduced by combining both operations. In view of these, the following study was undertaken to perform simultaneous sowing and herbicide application in DDSR technique using a zero till drill and herbicide applicator. Atractor operated zero-till drill cum herbicide applicator serves as a multi-purpose implement that helps in carrying out two or more operations simultaneously. The sole purpose of the implement was to settle the seed in the furrow by using levellers followed by herbicide application which acts as a preemergence herbicide preventing the immediate emergence of weeds. By adopting this practice, about 300 MJ ha⁻¹ energy and Rs. 3000 spent for weed control can be saved. The emergence of the seed was not affected by the herbicide application as they are separated using a protective hood.