RICE PRODUCTION

KEY CHECK/FACTORS TO CONSIDER

Compiled by: Joven Agting
Baccalaureate degree holder - Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher Education
Major in Agricultural Crops Production
ACP NC 3 trainee

Key Check 1 - SEED AND VARIETY

SELECTION
“Used high-quality seeds of recommended variety.”

Remember that we can REAP, what we SOW. That is why seed and variety
selection is really important if you are planing to plant a rice.

SOW - high quality seeds ( + good production practices)

REAP - good harvest (quantity and quality)

Differences between LOW and HIGH quality seeds

Low
- having an impurities(weed seeds, seeds of other crops, unwanted materials).
- deformed and damaged.
- having a visible seed borne pests and diseases; and
- low germination rate.

High
- clean and pure
- free from seed-borne diseases
- full and uniform in size
- have an 85% of germination rate.

SEED TAG/CLASS IDENTIFICATION

White Tag - Breeder Seeds (BS)
- produced from uniform panicles (nucleus seeds)
Red Tag - Foundation Seeds (FS)
- produced from breeder seeds
Green Tag - Registered Seeds (RS)
- produced from foundation seeds
Blue Tag - Certified Seeds (CS)
- produced from registered seeds

10 % or more yield increase if key check 1 properly implemented.

KEY TO MEMEMBER
 In using a good variety of seeds allows the uniformity of crop growth and stand, less
pest problem, uniform ripening, and more efficient in harvesting activities.
 In selecting seeds we must consider that it is certified by the Bureau of Plant Industry
- National Seed Quality Control Services (BPI-NSQCS). However, if there are no
accredited seed growers in your locality own produced will do if your variety is high
in yield. Moreover, the variety must suits the environment, address a prevailing
local field problem or has performed well in at least two seasons of adaptability
trials.
 Choose a variety that has high market demand.

Importance of using recommended variety

 Resistant to biotic stresses (prevalent pests and diseases in the area)
 Have produced relatively stable and high yields.
 Preferred by farmers and local consumers and with high market demand.

Key Check 2 - LAND PREPARATION

Well-leveled field

A well-leveled field is a per-requisite to good crop growth and management.

 Efficient water management
 Less weed incidence
 Better snail management
 Efficient nutrient utilization
 Uniform crop growth and maturity
 Efficient use of farm machinery
To achieve a well-leveled field; weeds, rice straw, and stubble's must be thoroughly
decomposed and land is well-puddled.

Disadvantage of not well-leveled field 5 % Yield reduction

1. More water is needed to drench the soil, reducing water use and time efficiency.
2. Weed increasing incidence occur, difficulty in managing snails, improper nutrient
utilization, uneven crop growth maturity results to inefficient use of water, reduced grain
quality, and yield reduction.

In Final leveling, no high and low spots must be seen.

. no portion has deeper than 5cm water ( = thumb length)
. no mound of soil can be seen above the 5cm water surface.

RECCOMENDATION IN WELL-LEVELED FIELD

If organic materials are not fully
1. Clean and repair dikes and ditches. decomposed, soil becomes acidic and
 Cleaning dikes hellp prevent or reduce pest infestation, some nutrients become less available.
 Compacted dikes prevent seepage,
 Dikes maintained at 15cm high X 20cm wide discourage rat-burrowing,
 Clean ditches ensure water efficiency and facilitate drainage.

2. Plow or rotovate field 21-30 days before planting

 Allot time for the germination of weeds and drop seeds,
 Allow time for decomposition of incorporate weeds, rice straw and stubble's in soil.
 Apply organic fertilizers to increase the population of beneficial microbial s and
hasten the full decomposition of plant residues.

3. Harrow the field every 7 days after plowing

The first harrowing is along the plowing pattern; the second or initial leveling is
crosswise.
Why? Because this will:
 This will break the clods
 Incorporate stubbles in the soil
 Allow weed seeds to germinate
 Help reduce initial pest population
 Maintain the soils hard pan

4. Final-harrow and level the field using a wooden plank or tiller-attached leveler
 Allows uniform water distribution
 Facilitates easier irrigation and drainage Water depth must be 5cm to ease field-leveling.

5. For direct weed-seeded rice (DWSR), Construct small canals (25cm wide and 5cm
deep) surrounding the field near the dikes at the middle of the field to:
 Provide path for excess water
 Facilitate collection of snails and field operations like replanting and weeding.

If the field is well-prepared the Outcome will be having a;

High yield, high grain quality and minimal damage to environment.

Key Check 3 - CROP ESTABLISHMENT

Practice synchronous planting after a rest period

It is the period when the rice field is not planted with the same crop to be fruitful
in the next cropping season.
Synchronous planting after a rest period of the rice field can; Planted within 14 days before or
 Enables efficient use of irrigation water 14 days after the regular planting
 Avoids overlapping incidence of insect pest and diseases population schedule.
 Prevents significant yield loss from pests

Well if farmers in an area plant synchronously, crops can be harvested almost

simultaneously, leaving no food source for insect pests to survive on and multiply like the
the tungro virus spread by green leaf hopper.
1. After harvesting, allow the field to rest at least 30 days. Do not plant the area with
rice.
Why? It is to,
 Break the insect pest cycle. Most of the insect pests have an average life cycle of 30
days. During the rest period, they will have no place to stay and most of them will
starve to death.
 Reduce inoculum. by leaving the field idle, the source of disease develop during
previous cropping will die before the start of the next cropping season.
 Allow good decomposition of organic materials. Which is serve as fertilizer.

2. follow the local planting calendar to make full use of irrigation water within the
community.

Key Check 4- CROP ESTABLISHMENT

Sufficient number of healthy seedlings

What are the signs of healthy seedlings?

 Have short leaf sheaths
 Have long and dense roots
 Have uniform height and growth
 No pest damage

- produce a good - can avail of sufficient

canopy sunlight and soil
nutrients
- have good root
-produce sufficient - increased potential
system - can easily recover productive tillers for higher yield
from transplanting
- free from pest shock
damage
- higher survival rate

Transplanted rice (TPR)

 20-40 kg/ha of high quality seeds.
 Ensured hill density of 25 hills/m2 if manually transplanted, or 21 hills/m2
mechanically.
 Ensured one healthy seedling per hill.

How to assess hill density and health status

1. At 10 DAT, randomly select 3 sampling location
at least 1m from the dike and in a diagonal line across
the field.

2. Count the hills from each location using a 1m x 1m

quadrat for manual transplanting. For mechanical
transplanting, measure a 1.1m x .9m quadrat.

3. Add the counts and divide the total by three to get the average number of hills/m2..
There should be:
4.
Manual At least 25 hills/m2 with at least one healthy seedlings per hill.
Mechanical At least 21 hills/m2 with at least one healthy seedlings per hill.

5. In every parcel, randomly select 10 hills. Each hill should have at least one healthy
seedling.

Transplanted rice recommendations

Minimum Age of No. Of Planting

Method Seedling Seedbed Seedlings Seedlings Distance (cm
Rate Area (days) (per hill) x cm)
Manual 20-40 kg/ha 400 m2 18-21 2-3 20 x 20 (WS)
20 x 15 (DS)
Mechanical (tray 70-160 g/tray 250-300 14-18** 3-6 30 x 15
method) 20-40 kg/ha trays (WS/DS)
Mechanical 420-960 g/m2 50m2 14-18 3-6 30 x 15
(Modified dapog 20-40 kg/ha (WS/DS)
method)

* Size of tray: 28cm x 58cm Seedlings older than 25 days will have
* can use 12-day old seedlings if height is not less than 15 cm difficulty recovering from transplanting
stress and will produce less tillers.
Note:
* Sowing right amount of seeds results in strong and healthy seedlings.
* Straight row planting follows uniform spacing between plants which allows for easy
management of off-tytpes and weeding.

Is 40 kg is enough?
Given: 1,000 grains has a weight of about 22 grams.
To determine the number of seeds per 40 kg:

Reccommended seeding rate: 40 kg/ha

Given: Certified seeds have a minimum germination rate of 85%
To determine the estimated number of seedlings that will grow:
Given: there are 250,000 hills/ha if we use 20x20 cm planting distance
To determine the estimated number of seedlings you need/ ha.

So, it means 40 kg is more than enough for 1 hectare.

Characteristics of a good seed bed area

 Away from light source to protect from insect pests.
 Protected from rats, birds and snails that eat seeds.
 Well-leveled for even distribution of water and fertilizer.
 Not shaded.
 Near a water source to ensure sufficient water for seeding growth.
 With good drainage to avoid drowning germinated seeds that result weak seedlings.
 Far from fields infected with tungro and other diseases to avoid infection.

Apply organic materials before leveling the seedbed.

Types of soil Rate of application Seedbed size Time of application
Fine-textured 3-4 bags of commercial 400m2 Before sowing the
fertilizer seeds
Medium-texturted No need to apply organic materials.
 Use compost or any fully decomposed organic materials such as dried animal
manure, carbonized rice hull, or rice straw.
 Organic materials help loosen the soil, making pulling of seedlings easier with less
root damage.
WARNING!
Do not cut the leaves of seedling before transplanting. The cut area can
be an entry point for disease-causing organisms.

Replant missing hills within 7DAT.

 Use seedlings from the same seedbed to avoid uneven maturity.

Direct wet-seeded rice (DWSR)

 40-60 kg/ha for row seeding and 60-80 kg/ha for broadcast seeding.
 Ensured plant density of 225 plants/m2 at 60 kg/ha seeding rate, or 300 plants/m 2 at
80 kg/ha seeding rate.
 Plants in each quadrat have no pest and are uniform in leaf color and plant height.

Way to assess the health status of direct-seeded rice

For land preparation:

1. Prepare field for seedling by following proper land preparation.
2. Protect pre-germinated seeds from birds, rats, snails, and weeds by following the
reccommended pest management practices.
3. Use drum seeder or broadcast pre-germinated seeds evenly onto the field.
4. Sow extra 1kg pre-germinated seeds on the side of the field for replanting. Replant
bland areas with a radius of more than 10cm within 7-10 DAS to ensure eve maturity.

Key Check 5- NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

Sufficient nutrients from tillering to early panicle
initiation and flowering

NUTRIENT FACTS
 Nutrients are what plants need to grow and become productive.
 Proper nutrient management improves crop growth and yield.
 Rice plants grow and respond better to fertilizer when there is more sunlight.
 Of all nutrient elements, rice plants need more of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P),
Potassium (K), Zinc (Zn), and Sulfur (S).
Why do you think rice plants need fertilizers?
Nutrients inputs as fertilizers fill the gap between what the crop needs and what is
currently present in the soil, water, and air (indigenous supply).

Nutrients from tillering to early panicle initiation and flowering

Insufficient
 Slow growth, less tillers/panicles, fewer seeds, and low grain weight.

Sufficient
 Good/uniform growth, uniform panicle development, and attainent of yield potential.

Excessive
 Pest damage, lodging, and pollution.

Signs of having a good nutrient management

 No symptoms of nutrient deficiency or toxicity from tillering to early panicle
initiation and flowering.
 Achieved at least 300 panicles/m2 (TPR) or 350 panicles/m2 (DWSR) at dough stage.

Ways to assess the number of panicles at dough stage:

Recommendation to have a sufficient nutrients for rice plant

1. Know and manage the nutrient requirements of your crop based on:
 Visual observation deficiency symptoms
 Result of nutrient diagnostic and decision support tools
 Other available information
Tips in Proper visual diagnosis of nutrient deficiency

Minus-One Element Technique @ MOET app

A pot experiment that is complemented with an ICT-based application to
determine that nutrients deficient in the soil and the amounts needed for a certain target
yield.

Leaf Color Chart (LCC)

A tool to visually assess the nitrogen status of the rice crop.

Rice Crop Manager

An ICT_based platform for rapidly developing improved nutrient and rice
farming management technologies.

2. Know the right element, amount and timing of fertilizer application.

Make EAT Right!

E - know the right nutrient ELEMENT that the plant needs. Giving the right nutrients
increases cost efficiency and attainment of target yield.
A - know the right AMOUNT of fertilizer to apply. Too much or too little is not good.
T - know the right TIMING of fertilizer application to increase efficiency in input cost
and nutrient uptake.

For the right ELEMENT:

Nitogen (N) ; promotes rapid growth for increased:

 Plant height, tiller number, and leaf size;
 Number of panicle per hill;
 Number of spikelets per panicle;
 Grain protein content; and
 Percentage of filled-spikelets.
Phosphorus (P) ; functions mainly for energy storage and transfer.
In rice, it promotes:
a. Vigorous root development
b. Tillering
c. Early flowering
d. Ripening
Potassium (K) ; in rice plants
 Speeds up root growth and plant vigor
 Accelerate uptake of other nutrients
 Improves tolerance of rice to adverse conditions such as pest and disease infestation,
drought, lodging, and
 Increases grain size and weight, and percent filled grain.

Zinc (Zn) ; promotes good seedling and overall growth of plants.

 It is essential for several biochemical pathways and structural processes in the rice
plant.
 In Zn-deficient soils, NPK fertilizers alone cannot provide good yield unless the
deficiency is corrected.

Sulfur (S) ; in rice plants

 Promotes uniform growth and maturity
 Speeds up chlorophyll production, protein synthesis, and plant function and structure
 Reduce yield if deficiency occurs to vegetative stage.
Tips for efficient use of fertilizers
Right technique of application of granular inorganic fertilizers.
 Incorporate fertilizer into the soil for better absorption of nutrients and to avoid
nutrient leaching and N volatilization.
 Apply only 30% of the total N requirement during the 1st application.
 Apply topdress fertilizer at low water depth (2-5 cm) to reduce N volatilization , and
nutrient run-off.
 Apply fertilizer during the cooler time of the day (particularly after 3:00 PM) to
avoid N losses.
 Key Check 6- WATER MANAGEMENT
Avoided stress caused by drought or excessive water
that could affect the growth and yield of the crop

Water is one of the important element in rice production. It dissolves plant

nutrients, transports “foods”, medium for photosynthesis and soil nutrients and it also
promotes better nutrient uptake and corrects some nutrients imbalances.

Additionally, water aids in proper seed germination, promotes seedling vigor,

including crop growth and development. And influences farm operations ( e.g. land
preparation, harvesting).

Issues and Concerns (Water)

Common farmers practices wherein water is not used economically:
1. Rice paddies remain open during rest period until the first irrigation time.
2. No definite schedules/guidelines of irrigation.
3. Paddy to paddy irrigation has no ditches.
4. Continously flooding the fields throughout the cropping season.
5. Biased seasonal and geographic rainfall distribution which some areas have long dry
season, some are endowed with sufficient or excessive rainfall.
6. High cost of irrigation development
7. High water requirement to produce rice.
Facts: about 4,000L of water is needed to produce 1kg of rice.
But, if a field is well managed, only about 2,600L of water is needed to produce
1kg of rice. Which 15-35% water savings

Trivia: by 2025, it is estimated that 15-20 million ha of irrigated rice worldwide will
have some degree of water scarcity.

Water Management
Insufficient
 Low fertilizer efficiency
 Low yield (reduced leaf area, reduce tillering and less spikelets)
 Low grain quality (unfilled frains)

Right Volume
 Better nutrient uptake and fertilizer efficiency
 Good plant vigor
 Better snail and weed management
 Uniform growth and maturity
 more efficient farm operations

.
Too much
Excessive water stress tend to:
 Higher irrigation cost
 Nutrient imbalance
 Low yield (reduced tillering, stunted growth, and lodging)
 Low fertilizer efficiency
 High greenhouse emission

Sign of proper water management is having a no symptoms of water stress due

to drought during vegetative stage, through the panicle initiation to grain filling stages.
And no symptoms of water stress due to excessive irrigation water during the vegetative
stage.

Symptoms of water stress during vegetative stage

Drought stress
 Leaf-rolling
 Leaf tip-drying
 Stunted growth
Deep soil cracking for more than three days.

Excessive water stress

 Reduced tillering (<10 tillers/hill)
 Smaller leaf area
 Roots are dark-colored instead of reddish brown or lighter.
>5cm water depth for seven days or more.
Symptoms of water stress due to drought stress during panicle initiation to grain-
filling stage:
 Leaf-rolling and leaf tip-drying
 Many unfilled spikelets
 Reduced panicle exsertion

Recommendation to attain good water management

1. Attain 2-3 cm water level every irrigation time within 3-14 DAT. Suspend irrigation
for 0-14 DAS if water is still present in the paddy, unless severe drought symptoms
appear.
2. Achieve 3-5 cm water level every irrigation time.
3. Maintain 5cm water level during flowering stage.
4. Achieve 5cm water level during the ripening stage.
5. Drain water or stop irrigation 1-2 weeks before expected date of harvest.
6. If water is scarce, practice controlled irrigation. During crop growth, practice alternate
wetting and drying (AWD) aided by an observation well.

Key Check 7- PEST MANAGEMENT

No significant yield loss due to pests

Know the rice crop interacts with biotic factors and the agro-ecosystem; and
correctly identify pests and apply ecologically sound management strategies. Resulting of
no significant yield due to pests which has ni discoloration of leaf, uniform grain size,
free from visible pest damage, and less weed contamination having a high quality of
grains.

Assessment
 No significant yield loss due to insect pests, diseases, weeds, rats, snails, and birds.

Significant damage happens when one or more pests cause damage.

There is significant yield loss if…

> 5% of the area has weed over at 0-40 DAS (DWSR)

> 10% of the are has weed cover at 15-40 DAT (TPR)
> 5% of the area has damaged tillers from maximum tillering to maturity
> 10% of the area has missing or snail-damaged hills at 14 DAT or DAS
> 5% of the area has damaged panicles
Key Check 7- HARVEST MANAGEMENT
Harvested the crop at the right time
Right Timing
 High-quality rice
 High market value and consumer acceptance

Too Early
 Immature grains
 Low milling recovery (53%)
 Harvest losses (1 to 1.5%)

Too Late
 Grain-shattering
 Breakage during milling (32% manual and 38% mechanized)
 Harvest losses (3%)

Indications
Palay is harvested when most of the grains are golden yellow:

 80-90% if manual harvesting

 90-95% combine harvester

Palay is threshed not later than one day after harvest during wet season or two
days during dry season.

Recommendations

1. Drain field 1-2 weeks before the expected date of harvesting

 To attain uniform maturity and ripening
 To prevent from wetting of grain during harvesting
 For easy operation in the field

2. Harvest at the right maturity, when 85-90% (manual) 0r 90-95%(combine

harvester) of the grains are golden yellow.

3. Harvest at the righ grain moisture content (MC).

 Use grain moisture meter when available
 18-21% MC for DS
 20-25% MC for WS

4. After manual harvesting, threshed not later than one day after harvest during wet
season or two days during dry season.
 To avoid grain discoloration and low-quality milled rice
 Avoid threshing dripping-wet palay to prevent losses from poor grain-cleaning and
separation
 800 rpm for most engine-driven thresher to prevent grain damage.