Traditional methods for economical Paddy cultivation

Rice is one of the staple crops of the world, and widely cultivated in India. China, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia are few of the countries which widely cultivates paddy. In India, states located in the Eastern and Southern parts cultivates the majority of rice. West Bengal is the leading rice producer in India which is followed by Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra, Punjab, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Haryana. 

Production of  rice takes huge labour and is water guzzling. Producing 1 kg of rice consumes 1250 liters of water. Making it a crop which is exposed to regions from tropical climate with high rainfall and low labour cost.

In the Asian countries including India, the traditional methods of cultivating rice are prominent, wherein generally the plants are transplanted with hands, and to make best profits from paddy, it is important to minimize investment in the rice production.

Using more fertilizer and pesticides increases the production cost of the crops but if proper precautions are taken the investments can be cut down by a huge margin and can benefit the farmers by increasing their output ratio.

How much hard work and dedication it takes to cultivate the staple is very much apparent from the video attached below which was shot in the paddy fields of Thanjavur. Here in this article we will discuss the points which can increase the productivity of rice using the traditional methods.

Seed treatment for Paddy Seeds

Before the paddy is planted, it is important to do seed treatment so that the mature crop is least susceptible to the diseases and grows as a healthy crop. Seed treatment with Azospirrilium and Blue green algae powder is recommended for a healthy growth of the crop.

Which Varities of Paddy to chose ?

There are numerous number of Paddy varieties which are developed considering the needs of  the crop to grow in the possible manner. Various draught resistant varities are also developed and needs less water and grows faster as compared with other rice varities.The Best Rice Varities for the maximum benefits are given below. Most of these varities are ready within 105-125 days duration.

Most Profitable Paddy Varities are mentioned below :

= DRRDHAN -45,

= RPBIO-226,

=  BPT5204,

= Telangana SONA,

= JAYA, ,

= DRRDHAN-42 (drought resistant)

= Sarala (CR 260-77) deep water rice

= Phalguni (CR Dhan 801) for Orissa

= Ajay (CRHR-7)

= Satabdi (CR 146-7027-224)

= Vandana (RR 167-982,

= Shabhagidhan (IR 74371-70-1-1-CRR-1)

Temperature Requirements for Paddy Cultivation :

Rice requires hot and humid climate. 30 – 35 degrees is the optimum temperature for cultivation of rice.

Things to do for better Rice Production :

As it was mentioned in the beginning of the article, least investments can bring most profits. Here are few points which if performed can lower down the inputs and hike the outputs from the paddy field. These steps can reduce the fertilizer and pesticide usage at the fields and hence reduce the input investments for the fields.

= Application of green manure.

= Using  FYM sesbania sps at the fields.

What is FYM Sesbania :

Sesbania (Sesbania aculeata) is an important green manure crop for wetland rice, and it can fix large amounts of N₂. A field experiment was conducted during 1989–1993 to evaluate the effectiveness of sesbania green manure and FYM (77–105 kg N ha^‐1) applied either alone or in combination with green manure for wetland rice. Sesbania accumulated 90 to 135 kg N ha^‐1 in 52 days. During each year, the total N addition to green manure and FYM amended plots was adjusted to 150 kg N ha^‐1 by applying additional N through urea. The grain yield of rice increased significantly up to 150 kg N ha^‐1. Green manure‐N proved as efficient as urea‐N in increasing rice yield. The availability of N from FYM was much lower than from urea or green manure. The combined application of FYM and green manure could meet all the N requirements (150 kg fertilizer N ha^‐1) of the high‐yielding rice and improved the yield potential observed with urea alone. Physiological efficiency (kg grain kg^‐1N uptake) was higher with green manure plus FYM treatment than urea or green manure alone. Incorporation of FYM alone or in combination with green manure increased organic carbon and available P and K contents in soil and significantly improved the yield of the succeeding crop of wheat.

soure : Journal, Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation

= Spraying of Neem based products

= Using Neem kernel oil

= Neem can also be used for seed extract spraying

= Neemax can be used to control of pests

= Neem cake can also be used

= 10 tonnes FYM /ha can be used to increase the productivity

= Azolla can be used as a biofertilizer in the paddy fields, which grows on the water at an exponential rate.

Dr. Arun from Indian institute of Rice Research suggests to use Sea 6 biostimulant, which can be used to increase the productivity of the crop. Foliar application of this product at 20 and 40 days can give farmers better results.  Along with that application of green manure and FYM sesbania sps can be used. Experiments have been done with the Sea 6 biostimulant , which is a seaweed. This also  has been used for field trials by the University of Agriculture Sciences, Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Horticulture Research and on paddy crop in states such as Odisha, West Bengal and Punjab. Dr Arun says, “ we have done experiments with this product .  It helped to increase the yield by upto 14 percent.”