Direct Seeded Rice: Strategies to Improve Crop Resilience and Food Security under Adverse Climatic Conditions

Raj K Jat,Illathur R Reddy,Avinash C Pandey,Manish Kumar,Vijay S Meena,Vijay S Jakkula

doi:10.3390/land11030382

Raj K Jat, Illathur R Reddy + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030382

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Abstract

Direct seeded rice (DSR) systems have been considered a sustainable strategy for sustainable rice (Oryza sativa L.) production and resilience under adverse climatic conditions. Providing essential nutrition for more than 50% of the global population, there has been a significant decline in rice productivity due to climate change. The results suggest that an adoption of DSR options, without raising rice nursery, improved rice productivity and time saving. A rice field experiment in the kharif season of 2021 was examined to identify the best crop establishment method. A comparison study of the direct seeded rice crop establishment method and the mechanical transplanting of rice crop establishment method was investigated to improve rice productivity. The results show that significantly higher (+10%) rice productivity was registered in the DSR option compared with mechanically transplanted rice. In this case, growth attributes, effective tillers (+37%), panicle length (+8%), the number of grains per panicle (+21%), and 1000-grain weight (+2%) were significantly higher in the DSR option compared with mechanically transplanted rice. It was observed that, after the third extreme rainfall, 100% of the mechanically transplanted rice crop was lodged, compared with only 25% of the DSR option. Overall, the results suggest that an adoption of DSR options significantly improved rice productivity and rice resilience, while offering the additional benefit of advancing the seeding of succeeding crops by 15 days compared with the mechanically transplanted rice system. Our study suggests that the adoption of the DSR option would sustain food security and crop resilience under adverse climatic conditions.

Highlights

In the recently released Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021, India was placed 101st and94th, among the 116 and 107 nations covered in the report, in 2020 and 2021, respectively
Crop Lodging Percentage and Rainfall Events The results show that a significant yield loss (~10%) was registered due to adverse climatic conditions
We found higher rice productivity under the direct seeded system compared with the puddled transplanted system [36,37]

Summary

Introduction

In the recently released Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021, India was placed 101st and94th, among the 116 and 107 nations covered in the report, in 2020 and 2021, respectively (https://www.globalhungerindex.org, (accessed on 20 December 2021). Under rice-based cropping systems, ~40% of area and ~50% of production comes from the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India [1,2]. In the eastern part of India, 18 M ha of cultivable land is dominated by rice-based production systems which cover about 42% of the total area of national rice production systems [4]. Puddled transplanted rice-based production systems are high energy and cost intensive, and result in a less profitable production system [5,6]. There is an imperative need to identify possible suitable crop establishment methods, for rice production systems, to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and increase productivity and profitability [6–8]. Puddled transplanted rice is an energy-intensive crop establishment method for rice and is known to degrade the soil system and negatively impact succeeding winter crops [14–16]. DSR might be a suitable alternative to advance climate-resilient methods in an efficient manner [17–19]

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