Abstract

                                Rice is a high yielding crop among the the cereals group. Even under adverse conditions, it performs fairly when compared to other cereals crops including wheat. The number of productive tillers hill-1 and panicle density (number of grains panicle-1) and grain weight are the rice vital characteristics that determine the yield potential of the cultivars. Many native varieties have greater mean panicle density and grain weight than most high-yielding varieties (HYV). The yield efficiency of rice crop is calculated as production of grains per unit of inputs viz., water and agrochemicals. Land races have the potential to yield upto 2 t ha-1 under adequate water supply and healthy build of soil fauna their rice fields. In this study, field investigation was carried out to find out the best performing red rice variety/land races and identifying the best organic practices in the terms of higher water productivity and water use efficiency. The experiment revealed that TKM 9 (developed from Kullakar x IR 8) and organic amendment of vermicompost + Azospirillum + phosphobacteria + pink pigmented facultative methylotrops were found to have maximum water productivity and water use efficiency.

Key words : Red rice; Land races;Water productivity; Water use efficiency