Dry-seeded rice culture in Punjab State of India: Lessons learned from farmers

Dry-seeded rice (DSR) is an emerging production system in Asia in the face of looming water scarcity, labor scarcity, and the energy crisis. The rice yield in this production system is highly variable. A survey was conducted during the kharif seasons of 2011 and 2012, comprising 320 randomly selected farmers covering all the major agroclimatic regions of Punjab State of India to understand the cultural practices, farmers’ perceptions, and reasons for the yield gap in DSR. Farmers used seeding rates from 15 to 40kgha−1, depending upon the type of seed drill used and agroecological conditions. About 65% of the farmers used drills with inclined plates, a seed-metering device, and on a “custom hiring” basis. More than 90% of the farmers chose cultivars for dry seeding by considering their yield potential, suitability to agroecological zones, and being easy to sell. Among the farmers surveyed, about 45% of them adhered to recommended practices of fertilizer application. Weeds were reported as the main biological constraints in DSR culture. Only 46% of the farmers applied both pre- and postemergence herbicides for weed control. About 67% of the farmers used flood jet or cone-type nozzles for herbicide spray, resulting in additional hand-weeding by 42% of the farmers due to poor weed control. The survey revealed that non-adherence to a recommended fertilizer schedule and weed control package (appropriate herbicides, optimum application time of herbicides, optimum volume of water for spraying, and selection of the right nozzles) is one of the reasons for the existing yield gap. Site-specific agrotechnologies for DSR need to be developed and transferred to farmers to achieve high yield. The survey also revealed that tailoring cultivars for dry-seeding conditions is needed for further productivity gains in DSR.