Cultivation - Life Cycle of Rice Crop
Description:
Hi, welcome to Tutorialspoint. In this tutorial, we will talk about the cultivation of rice crop. Rice has different names in different languages. In Hindi, it is called chawal. The Scientific Name of Rice is Oryza Sativa and it belongs to the family Grasses.
Rice is a cereal grain crop and the plant grows from 2 to 6 feet tall with a round jointed stem, long pointed leaves, and edible seeds born in dense head on a separate stalk.
The cultivation of rice crop requires hot and humid climate. Rice crop grows where abundant water supply and prolonged sunshine is available. The ideal temperature required throughout the crop life period is 25oc to 35oc. However, crop tolerate temperature up to 40oc.
Let us now see the different stages involved in the cultivation of rice crop.
- Land preparation
- Seed sowing and Raising Nursery
- Transplantation
- Irrigation
- Weeding
- Pest and Disease Management
- Booting and Flowering
- Harvesting
Land preparation
Rice can be cultivated on a wide variety of soils. However, the crop thrives best in clayey or loamy soils, which easily puddles into mud and develops cracks on drying conditions.
The soil should be plowed to attain a reasonable depth of 10−20 cm with varying clod sizes, and to kill weeds by burying or exposing the roots. Moldboard plough / disc plough / chisel plough can be used for ploughing. Make the first pass along the edges of the field in a clockwise pattern. For the second pass, move counterclockwise and finish at the center.
Depending on the clod size, another tillage operation can be done using implements. Additional primary tillage operations are generally done with rotavator.
Irrigate the field with 2−3 cms of water for about 10-14 days or until it is soft enough and suitable for an equipment to be used. Keep the field submerged for plowing to soften clods and to decompose organic material.
Adding fertilizers in puddled field after irrigation or along with irrigation as a Basal dose will increase the fertility of soil.
Depending on the climate and soil type, puddling should be done 10−14 days after primary workings. Puddling the field with Rotavator and harrowing breaks up the soil clods and incorporates weeds, straw, and stubble into the mud. This hastens decomposition.
Pass the harrow crosswise to break the soil clods. The second pass should be done lengthwise. If the field is flooded, reduce the depth of the water to locate uneven and high surfaces of the soil before harrowing. Land preparation is now complete. Let us now see how the seeds are sown and raised in the nursery.
Seed sowing and Raising Nursery
Before sowing the seeds, the seeds should be soaked in fungicide solution for 24hours to prevent soil borne disease and also to give resistance to the seedlings. This is followed by drying the seeds in shade for sowing.
The required area for Raising Nursery is 1 cent / acre. Pre-sprouted seeds are sown on raised nursery bed. Apply a fine layer of manure. Spread the sprouted seed sparsely.
Irrigation may be commenced on the 5th day after sowing and continued up to the 7th, to a depth of about 5 cm. After this period, irrigate the nursery continuously to a depth of about 5 cm in order to control weeds.
After 20 to 25 days of sowing, the seedlings are ready fir transplanting. Seedlings more than 30 days old when transplanted recover more slowly than younger seedlings. Seedlings less than 20 days old are too short to be pulled from the soil.
Two to three seedlings are grasped at a time. Hold the seedlings between the thumb and forefingers, and as close to the base as possible.
They are pulled gently and easily. If too much mud sticks to roots, it is washed by shaking the roots in water. The plant roots should not be thrashed against feet or any object to remove mud as this will injure the plants.
A convenient size of seedling bundle 5 - 8 cm in diameter is made by tying with any soft material may and the seedling should be protected from drying. Arrange the bundles in field for transplantation.
Let us now see how the seeds transplanted into the field.
Transplantation
Rice seedlings grown in a nursery are pulled and transplanted into puddled and leveled fields. Rice seedlings can either be transplanted manually or by machine.
Manual transplanting does not require costly machines and is most suited for labor-surplus areas and for small rice fields. Manual transplanting can be done in fields with less than optimal leveling and with varying water levels.
Transplant 2–3 seedlings per hill at shallow depth at optimum spacing (20 cm x 20 cm or 22.5 cm x 22.5 cm). Handle seedlings carefully to ensure their fast revival and rapid growth after transplanting.