Abstract
Rice (Oryza sativa L. ) cultivation in Sri Lanka is restricted by limited water availability. Increased variability of seasonal rainfall as a result of climate change will further exacerbate risk in rice cultivation. Knowing the onset of rainfall through forecasts, adjusting planting date based on the predicted rainfall onset, and efficient irrigation management are important determinants to reduce the risk in rice farming. In this study, a modelling approach was used to assess the yield advantage of changing planting dates according to the onset of seasonal rainfall compared to a fixed planting date in the major rainy season (Maha), and evaluated the efficiency of irrigation management. The model, Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM), was parameterized using data from the literature, and the model could simulate the observed yield of rice varieties Bg300 and Bg359 with a good fit (CV Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 25 (3): 277-286 (2014)
Highlights
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the staple food for Sri Lankans and is cultivated as a lowland crop in most parts of the country
The zero origin (1:1) graphs of the relationship between simulated and observed data illustrate that Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) has simulated observed yields for short age (Bg300) and medium age (Bg359) rice varieties with a high accuracy (Fig. 1)
Changing planting date of rice according to the onset of rainfall can reduce the irrigation water requirement and risk of rice cultivation
Summary
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the staple food for Sri Lankans and is cultivated as a lowland crop in most parts of the country. The total land area devoted for rice cultivation is estimated to be around 708,000 ha (DCS, 2011). Water scarcity occurs in Sri Lanka, and in many parts of the world and is projected to be even in shorter supply in the future in some regions due to climate change (UNESCO-WWAP, 2009). This scarce resource is frequently wasted as a result of inefficient water management practices in agriculture (Thiyagarajan & Selvaraju, 2001) resulting in low water productivity. Water-efficient agricultural practices are of immense importance to enable an increase in the area to be cultivated, and/or conserving water from rain to be used in the drier regions or seasons through irrigation
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