No-till and unpuddled mechanical transplanting of rice: operational manual

Abstract

Water availability for agriculture is becoming increasingly scare. In South Asia, rice is traditionally grown by transplanting seedlings into puddled fields. Around 30% of the total water (1400-1800mm) required for rice culture is dedicated to puddling and transplanting. The physical changes in soil from puddling may be favourable for rice cultivation, but they are very detrimental to the growth of succeeding non-rice crops due to sub-soil compaction and destruction od soil structure. Moreover, timely transplanting of rice is based on the permise of cheap and readily available labour. Across South Asia, labour scarcity is no longer a projection, but rather a hard felt reality. Therefore, the need has been ralized across the region to explore rice production technologies that eliminate puddling, require less labour and energy and facilitate timeliness in crop establishment. Zero-Till and unpuddled transplanting using self propelled mechanical rice transplanter can be a good alternative to address these issues for sustainable rice production systems. This booklet is an effort to introduce the operational details of the technology that will enable extension offcicials, service providers and innovative farmers to facilitate accelerating adoption of mechanical transplanting for rice, eliminating piddling and/pr tillage. Techniques for mat type nuersery raising and zero-till unpuddled transplanting of rice are described in a easy to follow step-by-step guide.