Nursery Management Techniques in Rice

Wet-bed Method Dry-bed Method Dapog Method Modified Dapog Method Nursery is the place where raise seedlings with special care until transplanting There are 5 rice nursery systems, Wet-bed Method Dry-bed Method Dapog Method Modified Dapog Method Parachute Method The choice of a particular nursery system depends on the availability of water labour, land and agricultural implements.

Wet-bed method Widely used in areas where water is abundant Conserves seeds. Makes the most economical use of seed in producing seedlings.

Rate of seeding=100g/sqm of seeds Preparing the wet-bed Compute for the area required for constructing a seed bed. Rate of seeding=100g/sqm of seeds Each seed bed should be about 1.5m wide Select the location Conveniently located for irrigation and drainage Prepare the land 30 to 35 days before planting Regulate water level Leveling the soil Measure area of seed bed

Should be about 4 to 5cm above the original soil level Raise seed bed level Should be about 4 to 5cm above the original soil level Smooth the surface of the seed bed Sowing the seeds Pregerminated for 24 hours Broadcast evenly

Care of wet-bed seed bed Protect seedlings from lack of water During the first week , add just enough water to saturate the soil After irrigate the seed bed gradually and continuously It help to control the weeds Protect seedling from insects and animals Every 7 days spray Sevin 85 WP (1 level table spoon per 10 liter of water) Fence the seed bed Protect seedling from nitrogen deficiency

Pulling of seedlings Ready for transplanting from 20 to 25 days after sowing Flood the seed bed a day before pulling Wash the soil from roots and bundle the seedlings in to convenient sizes

Advantages Disadvantages Less seeds are required per unit area to be transplanted Disadvantages Requires land area for seedbed Preparation of seedbed , care of seedbed and pulling seedlings are laborious Seeds are easily carried away by raindrops

Dry-bed Method Practices in areas where water is not sufficient to warrant use of the wet-bed Bed is prepared dry

Plow the field twice and harrow two or three times Dry- bed Method cont….. Plow the field twice and harrow two or three times Addition of decomposed organic matter and/or partially burned rice straw or rice husks Construct raised beds 1 to 1.5m width and of a convenient length If seedbed soil is poor , apply 60 to 100g of nitrogen/ sq m seedbed Pregerminated seeds sow evenly over the bed Cover with fine soil by hand One cavan (44 kg) of seed sufficient to transplant a hectare of land

At the time of seeding , broadcast diazinon on the seedbed Dry-bed Method cont…. At the time of seeding , broadcast diazinon on the seedbed (3g of active ingredient of diazinon per 10 sq m of seedbed) The beds should be watered thoroughly immediately after planting and twice every day thereafter. Soak the bed – well If irrigation water is available, water can be sent along the channels and splashed onto the beds otherwise, water must be carried in by hand 20 to 30 days after sowing pull the seedlings Keep the seedbed moist during pulling Pulling of seedlings is much easier than in the wet-bed method

Advantages Disadvantages Seedlings develop excellent root Seedlings easy to uproot Beds can be made near the farmer's house Disadvantages Will not grow as fast as wet bed seedlings If the beds dry out for even one day, the growth of the seedling may be seriously impaired.

Dapog Method Most commonly used Used in places where water is abundant Can be located anywhere convenient, as long as it is near a reliable water supply

Preparing the seedbed Compute area required Prepare the land 1sq m of seedbed/3kg of seed Width is taken at 1.5m Prepare the land Usually one plowing followed by one harrowing Regulate water level Must be enough water to cover the soil surface Raise seedbed level Cover the soil of seedbed Use banana leaves with midribs removed. Spread the leaves with the underside up. Leaves should overlap each other and should have no holes.

Pregerminated for 36 to 48 hours Surrounded the seedbed with banana bracts. Sowing seeds Scatter the pregerminated seeds over the banana leaf enclosure Pregerminated for 36 to 48 hours Pack the seeds to make a uniform layer-3 seeds thick Use a leveling woodboard to press the seeds Water the seeds

Prepare seedlings for transplanting Care of seedbed Protect seedlings from lack of water Maintain an even germination Lightly press the seeds once a day until the fourth day. Protect seedlings from insect, pest and animals Prepare seedlings for transplanting Loosen and roll the seedbed in to a convenient bundle Bring roll of seedlings to the field to be planted In some areas small concrete floors are used as the seedbed of the dapog seedlings

Advantages: Disadvantages Area required for seedbed is reduced Seedlings are raised faster Seedlings recover faster after transplanting Expense in removing seedling from seedbed is less Disadvantages A larger quantity of seeds is required Seedlings are short Requires more precise water management

Modified Dapog Method Use good quality seeds(12-25kg/ha) Use pregerminated seeds Soak seeds 24 hours and drain the water Keep the seeds moist by covering another 24 hours Prepare the soil mix Mix 7 parts of soil :2 parts well decomposed chicken manure:1 part fresh rice hull Prepare the nursery area(100sqm nursery/1ha) Select level area Level the seedbed Spread banana leaves or plastic sheeting

Sow the pregerminated seeds uniformly Modified Dapog Method cont…. Lay the soil mixture With or with out using a wooden frame Instead of that can use banana stalks Sow the pregerminated seeds uniformly Cover the nursery with banana leaves or plastic sheeting Water the nursery twice a day for 5 days Five days after seeding , remove the cover Flood the nursery Maintain 1 cm water level around the mats

Modified Dapog Method cont…. Drain the water 2 days before removing the seedling mats for transplanting After 7 days seedlings show yellowing , Sprinkling the seedlings with 0.5% urea solution About 12 to 15 days after seeding pull the seedlings gently and transport to the field Modified Rice Mat Nursery Lifting seedling mat

Parachute Method Practicing in puddled and unpuddled soils. Flexible plastic bubble-sheets are used(59 cm in length and 33 cm width) Trays have 434 plugs Requires 400 plastic trays to raise seedlings for one hectare seed the soil plugs with one or two seeds and cover them with a thin layer of sieved soil. In initial stages watered with a sprinkler frequently

Plastic tray seedbed preparation Seedlings in plastic trays ready for transplantation.

Parachute Method cont…. The nursery take 25- 30 days to attain a height of about 20 cm before transplanting. Parachuting of the young rice seedlings is done both manually and by using mechanical blowers. With manual broadcasting, a labor simply tosses few seedling-plugs up into the air. Seedlings removed and broadcasted in a projectile manner into irrigated fields.

Advantages Quick and economical for the large land holdings. Considerable quantity of water (60%) is saved Saving of 60–70% in labor costs as compared to the conventional method. Uprooting of nursery from the plugs on plastic trays is very easy. Results in higher crop yields and net income as compared with the traditional method.

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