Effect of different planting methods on growth and yield of paddy variety Bg 360

Abstract

Rice is the staple food in Sri Lanka. Bg 360 is currently considered the best improved paddy variety cultivated by farmers in Mannar. In the Mannar district, farmers practice different planting methods, and the number of effective tillers obtained varies, which causes yield variation and different production costs in paddy cultivation. To identify the best-suited planting method for the rice variety Bg 360, an experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with three replications by adopting five different methods of planting as treatments, namely broadcasting (T1), drum row seeding (T2), SRI method of planting (T3), manual transplanting (T4), and machine transplanting (T5). The parameters such as plant height, leaf area index, tillers, number of grains, panicle numbers and yield per plot were measured. Data were analyzed in the SAS 9.4 version, and mean separation was performed in DMRT to identify the best treatment. The experiment results showed that the planting methods significantly affect the plant height, effective tillers and grain yield. A high number of effective tillers (between 6 – 20 per plant) and yield (number of grains per panicle, 1000 grain weight and number of panicles per plant) were observed in the SRI method, and low value was received from the broadcasting method. The planting methods also significantly affected the time of crop maturity (by two weeks). Direct-seeded rice matured early (110 days), while transplanting took 120 days. Further, transplanted rice, especially in the SRI method, showed low seed requirement, low weeds, pest disease and incidence and low cost of production. Farmers generally do not adopt the SRI method for cultivation because of high time consumption and labour requirements. Based on the study, it can be concluded that transplanted rice, especially the SRI method, is more beneficial than other planting methods to cultivate the Bg 360 paddy variety.