Abstract

                                To study the effect of various establishment and water managementpractices on rice, a field experiment was conducted at Periyar VaigaiCommand (PVC) during summer 2019. The experiments comprised of fourestablishment methods in main plots viz., conventional transplanting (M1),machine transplanting under puddled soil (M2), machine transplantingunder unpuddled soil (M3) and sowing with seed drill (M4); four irrigationmanagement practices in sub plots viz., farmers’ irrigation practice (I1),Irrigation after formation of hairline crack (I2), irrigation when waterlevel reaches 5 cm below soil surface (I3) and irrigation when water levelreaches 10 cm below soil surface (I4). The results of the study revealed thatmachine transplanting under unpuddled soil recorded 6.5 per cent higheryield compared to conventional manual planting. Among the irrigationmanagement strategies, irrigation after formation of hairline crack recorded8.1 per cent higher yield compared to farmer’s irrigation practice, whichwas comparable with irrigation when water level reaches 5 cm below soilsurface. Significant interaction was observed with establishment methodsand irrigation management practices. This study concluded that machinetransplanting under unpuddled soil combined with irrigation when water levelreaches 5 cm below soil surface will be the suitable management technologyto be adopted by the rice growing farmers in tank irrigated command areas.

Key words : Establishment methods; Irrigation management; Growth; Yield and Water productivity