Seed priming and in situ moisture conservation measures in increasing adaptive capacity of rain-fed upland rice to moisture stress at Eastern Himalayan Region of India

In the uplands of Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR) of India, dry-seeded rain-fed rice occupies considerable area. However, productivity of rice in this region is very low and is mainly due to frequent occurrence of intermittent soil moisture stress, weed infestation, and poor crop establishment. Keeping this in view, a field experiment on rain-fed direct-seeded rice was conducted during two consecutive years 2011 and 2012 at the EHR of India (27° 95′N latitude and 94° 76′E longitude, 662 m above MSL) to evaluate the effect of seed priming (SP) with different durations (0, 12, 18, and 24 h) and in situ furrows at various row intervals as moisture conservation measures (MCM) on seed germination, plant stand, profile moisture recharge, rice productivity, water and energy use efficiency, and harvest monetary benefits. Results revealed that SP for 24 h duration significantly (p < 0.05) improved the seed germination and crop stand, rice grain yield by 30–36 %, water use efficiency by 29–36 %, and energy productivity by 15–22 %. In situ furrows at regular and alternate row intervals also registered 1.89–3.2-fold increase in profile moisture recharge, 20–34 % higher rice productivity, 23–33 % improvement in water use efficiency, and 6–16 % increase in energy productivity over without MCM. Seed priming helped in improving seed germination, seedling establishment, and plant stand, while MCM was useful in mid-season rainfall capture and profile moisture recharge during intermittent moisture stress for better plant growth. However, adoption of in situ furrows (regular and alternate row intervals) as MCM increased the cost of cultivation by 13–27 % over normal practices but was compensated by the significant increase in grain yield, water use efficiency, benefit:cost ratios, and farmers’ profit.