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Package of practices for Rice cultivation in Goa |
INTRODUCTION
Rice (Oryza saliva L), the staple food of Goans is being cultivated over an area of 54,000 hectares both in Kharif (44,000 ha) and Rabi ( 10,000 ha). This cereal crop accounts for 31% of the total cropped area and 86% of the food grain production. It is cultivated on three different land types viz. Kher lands (rainfed lowlands), Morod lands (rainfed uplands) and Khazan lands (coastal saline lands). The average productivity of rice is about 2.2 t/ha in Kharif and 2.8 t/ha in Rabi. Small and fragmented land holdings, lack of ownership titles, ever increasing cost of labour and their unavailability in time and lack of technical knowledge about its profitable cultivation are some of the major constraints faced by our farmers. One of the ways to make rice cultivation profitable in Goa is to bring down the cost of its production per unit area. This can be achieved by adopting proper agronomic practices like selection and seed treatment of suitable high yielding variety, maintaining adequate plant population (particularly in direct sown rice) optimum fertilizer management, efficient use of water, timely harvesting and adopting proper storage methods. Use of labour saving improved farm implements and weedicides will also go a long way in reducing the cost on investment, thereby increasing the profit margin.
TECHNOLOGY FOR DIFFERENT RICE GROWING SITUATIONS
DIRECT SEEDING (in puddled soils)
Start land preparation with the first break of monsoon by deep ploughing, puddling and levelling. Drain out excess water and apply well-decomposed cowdung manure at the rate of 25 t/ha and basal dose of fertilizers before last ploughing. Select well filled mature seed of a high yielding variety. Immerse the seed in salt solution (1.65 kg salt in 10 litre water). Remove chaffy and half filled grains that float on surface of water. Collect heavy, settled grains at the bottom and thorougly wash them in fresh water. Dry and use this seed for sowing after treating with seed dressing fungicides like 'Captan' or 'Thiram' at the rate of 2.5 g per kg of seed. Broadcast pre-germinated seeds (90-100 kg/ha) on a levelled surface having thin film of water.
RAINFED LOWLANDS (transplanted)
Nursery Seedlings in nurseries are raised either by the dry method or wet method
Wet Nursery Prepare the seed bed 30 days before planting. Plough twice in the dry condition and puddle it subsequently by ploughing in the standing water (5-6 cm), 3-4 times at intervals of 5-6 days. Level the field perfectly after final puddling and prepare raised beds of 1-1.5 m width and convenient length, leaving 30 cm channel in between two beds. Total seed bed nursery area should be 10% of the main field (i.e.: 1000 m area will be required for planting one hectare land). Fertilise the nursery beds with 1-2 kg Urea, 2.5 kg Mussoriephos and 1.5 kg Muriate of Potash for every l00m2 area before final leveling of nursery beds. Select suitable high yielding variety seeds through use of salt solution and seed treatment as mentioned earlier. About 50-60 kg seed are sufficient for nursery area of 1000 m2, enough to transplant 1 hectare land. Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours and put in gunny bags and incubate for 48 hours beneath straw with occasional sprinkling of water Broadcast germinated seeds uniformly over the prepared seed bed and maintain water to a depth of 2.5 cm Top-dress the nursery seedbed with 1 to 1.5 kg Urea for every 100m2, at least 6 days before transplanting. Hand weed once after a fortnight of seedling emergence. The seedlings so raised are ready for transplanting, 25-30 days after germination At the time of uprooting, the nursery bed should be wet to avoid root damage.
Dry Nursery Plough the field 3-4 times at intervals of 4-5 day on receipt of first showers. Apply 200-300 kg cowdung manure for every 100m2 nursery area, 2-3 weeks before sowing If manure is not available, apply 1-2 kg-Urea, 1.5 kg Mussuriephos and 1.5 kg Muriate of potash per l00m2. Then harrow and level the field. Prepare raised beds. 1 to 1.5m wide, 15cm in height and of convenient length, keeping 30 cm wide channel all around to facilitate drainage. Select seeds of a suitable variety as mentioning earlier. Use 50-60 kg seeds for 1000 m2 area either by broadcast or sow in close lines and cover them with thin film of so Then irrigate the nursery bed frequently. Hand weed once, 15 -20 days after germination. The seedlings will be ready for transplanting, 20-25 days after sowing. Provide adequate irrigation to make the soil sufficiently wet to prevent damage to the roots while uprooting.
Main field preparation Plough the main field, 3 weeks before transplanting and submerge the field in 5-10 cm of standing water. Add 6-8 tonnes of green matter/ha and incorporate it by puddling. This would decompose in time. Apply basal dose of fertilizers before final puddling and level the field.
Transplanting of seedlings
Maintain a thin film of water over the levelled field. Transplant 25 day old seedlings (4-5 leaf stage) from wet or dry nursery in the main filed at a shallow depth of 3-4 cm. Do not transplant deep. In line planted crops, adopt 20x15 cm or 20X10 cm spacing with 2-3 seedlings per hill. In random planted crop, plant 10-15 cm apart with 2-3 seedlings per hill. Maintain 50-60 hills m2. Optimum plant population is essential for higher yields. Fill in the vacant gaps if any, observed in field within 15 days. Good and efficient water management facilities good tillering of the crop, increases efficiency of nitrogen and helps to reduce weed population. For effective water management, uniformly level the field and maintain 2-5 cm water before top dressing with Urea and maintain the water level 24 hours after application of fertilisers. Drain the water 15-20 days after 50% flowering. This ensures fast ripening of grain and quick hardening of soil.
Rainfed Uplands ( Morod lands)
Always select high yielding short duration varieties like Jyoti, Triveni, Vaigai, Rohini etc., under morod conditions as cultivation is solely dependent on precipitation. Poor water holding capacity of such soils makes the choice of variety very crucial.
Land preparation Prepare the field by ploughing and cross-ploughing in advance so that the field is ready for sowing before the onset of monsoon. Allow the weed seeds to germinate. Adopt shallow harrowing to kill the weeds that emerge. Later on level the field before sowing The quantity of seed required to sow 1 ha area is 60-80 kg for drilling or dibbling and 100-120 kg for broadcasting. Treat the seed as mentioned earlier. Sow behind the country plough in shallow furrows 2-3cm deep about 20 cm apart to ensure better germination. Thin out and simultaneously fill the gaps, 10-12 days after germination to ensure optimum plant population.
Based on the duration, rice varieties are grouped into three types viz. short duration (less than 120 days), medium duration (125-135 days) aid long duration (140 days and above). Some of the recommended high yielding varieties for Goa are given below:
One of the factors responsible for low yield of rice is inadequate or improper fertilizer application. Nitrogen in the form of Urea is used by most of the farmers. Excessive use of Urea leads to many maladies. Application of right type of fertilizer based on &oil tests and at right time in split doses of nitrogen at critical stages of crop growth, would go a long way in boosting per unit production. However, fertilizer doses, which could be applied in the absence of individual soil test reports, are suggested in Table 1. The farmer may choose any combination depending upon the availability of fertilizers and soil type. But for acidic soils use would be desirable to use NPK as straight fertilizers in the form of Urea, Mussoriephos and Muriate of Potash. Table 1 will serve as a guideline for the quantity of fertilizers to be applied per hectare and the time of its application. If may be noted that half of the nitrogen dose should be applied as basal, before final puddling and remaining half should be divided equally and applied as top dressing 25 days after transplanting and a week before panicle initiation. It is also advisable to drain off water from field before Urea application. Water level upto 2-5 cm should be maintained 24 hours after application.
Table : Quantity of different fertilizers used per hectare and the method and time of their application
Weed infestation is a chronic problem in rice cultivation. The loss caused by weeds are very significant as evident from poor yield and low quality of grain. Most of the farmers with an exception of a few, rely on hand weeding by engaging hired or family labour which is not only expensive but also unavailable at peak time. As a result, many times crops are totally neglected by farmers as they cannot afford to spend large amounts for manual weeding. Chemical weedicides like Butachlor or Benthiocarb as liquid as well as granular forms are easily available and they kill weeds very effectively, without affecting the main crop thereby resulting in higher yields. Granules are convenient to apply as compared to liquid formulations as it eliminates the use of spray pump. In areas where rice is grown in 'Chobo' or 'Dhulap' system apply 15 kg Benthiocarb or 20 kg Butachlor granules per ha as soon as rain starts and about 3-7 cm water is accumulated in the fields, ln areas where pre-germinated seeds are sown in puddled soils, the same quantity of weedicide should be applied one week after germination when rice plants are in 2-3 leaf stage Similar dose of the above weedicide should be applied 4 days after transplanting in cage of transplanted rice. It is important to maintain water in the field for atleast 4-5 days after application of weedicides For liquid formulation mix 3 litres of Benthiocarb 50% EC in 500 litres of water and apply with back-pack sprayer one week after sowing in one hectare. In transplanted areas spray it after 3 days of transplanting. Mixing 2.5-5 litres of Benthiocarb in 75-100 kg sand and applying it uniformly on thin film of water also help.
Rice in Goa is attacked by several insect pests and diseases of which cutworm, leaf roller, gall midge, brown plant hopper gundhi bug and blast are important. The symptoms of damage due to the attack by these pests and diseases with their management are given below:
A smooth area of 10x1 m can be bunded strongly on all sides. A polythene sheet of 10.5 x 1.5m is spread over the area touching the soil surface. The polythene sheet can be extended along the bund upto a height of 10-15 cm. Thus a tub with polythene lining is ready. In this tub, 200 litres of water (about 2 cm height) is added. Then add 200 ml Chlorpyriphos 20 EC to this water and mix thoroughly. Rice seedlings required to transplant 0.41 hectares are uprooted a day before planting and closely arranged within the tub, so that the root portion of seedling is immersed in the Chlorpyriphos solution. All these operations are done towards the evening and seedlings are allowed to remain in the solution over-night (12hour). The seedlings thus treated are transplanted next morning. If it is not possible to dip the seedlings overnight, 2 kg Urea can be mixed with the water with 200 ml Chlorpyriphos. The seedlings should be allowed to remain in the solution for 3 hours and can be transplanted as usual. Note: One ml of chlorpyriphos 20 EC in 1 litre of water gives 0.02% concentration of insecticide. One m2 area with 2 cm deep water will contain 20 litres of water.
Harvesting paddy at the right stage is vital for getting high quality grain yield. It also helps in proper storage of grain. Depending on the type of variety grown, drain out water from the field when grains at the lowest portion of the pannicle are in dough stage (about 15-20 days after 50% flowering). Allow the grain to harden. Harvesting should be done at the proper stage when plants are green to avoid grain shedding. This generally occurs 15-30 days after flowering in the early and medium varieties and 15-40 days in case of long duration varieties. The moisture content of paddy should be 20 to 23% at the harvest time. "Vaibhav sickle" developed by Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth is an ideal implement forharvesting. Gradual drying in shade, avoiding direct exposure to the sun, should be adopted to bring down the moisture content to 13-14% for milling or storage of grain. Artificial shade can be created by arranging the bundles lengthwise and covering the panicles of the proceeding bundle with the straw of the succeeding bundle. Store paddy (after adequate drying) in proper storage structures. Take precautions to avoid caking and occurance of fungi and damage from stored grain pests.
Based on the prevailing rates (1988 – 89) and the economic dose of fertilizer application, for short duration rice varieties, an approximate cost of cultivation for one hectare of transplanted crop for a single cropping season is worked out and furnished below:
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