Morphological and functional characteristics of under-utilized crops of Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Transplanting after repeated puddling is the conventional method of rice cultivation which is not only laborious but also increases the cost of cultivation. The other problems of this method are unavailability of labour during peak period, scarcity of water, deterioration of soil health. Replacement of existing traditional method of rice cultivation with sustainable production of rice and increase soil health is needed. Direct seeded rice is one of the methods popularizing for upland rice cultivation whichavoids repeated puddling, prevents soil degradation and plow-pan formation, facilitates timely establishment of rice, saves water and labour, reduces production cost and increases yield. A field study was conducted to make comparison between two methods of rice cultivation i.e. Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and puddle transplanting in two successive kharif seasons of 2017 & 2018 at farmer’s field in Chandi and Nalanda districts of Bihar. DSR method recorded statistically at par grain yield with conventional transplanting method. However, numerically higher grain yield of 37.64q /ha was recorded in conventional transplanting method compared to DSR i.e. 34.76 q/ha. Maximum mean plant population of 10.41and higher mean number of productive tillers of 70.63per running meter were recorded by DSR method over the conventional transplanting method with plant population of 4.11 and 45.90 average productive tillers per running meter. However, maximum weight of 1000 grains i.e. 24.3 g was recorded in conventional transplanting method than DSR i.e. 22.98g. Net monetary return and benefit cost ratio of Rs 36527/ha and 1.40 respectively was recorded by DSR followed by transplanting method of rice with Rs. 36483/ha and 1.16 net monetary return and benefit cost ratio respectively.