While comparing transplanted or directed seeded puddled rice, owing to lack of wet tillage such as puddling, the present semi dry rice system provides more leaching losses of applied nutrients along with percolation losses of irrigation water.This results in poor nutrient uptake, that reflects on poor grain yield, even by advocating improved technologiesSemi dry rice is usually grown with initial dry tillage and seeds are drilled in lines with a seed drill.The drilled crop provides sufficient row space that facilitates wet inter tillage with suitable implements especially at the time of conversion of dry to wet system, usually 6 to 7 weeks after dry sowing. The adoption of wet inter tillage is able to alter the soil physical environments and thereby minimize percolation losses of irrigation and leaching losses of applied nutrients during wet environment.
Inter-tillage technique for semi-dry rice
by , The Hindu, 26 February, 2009