Influence of crop establishment methods on paddy yield and water productivity in lowland ecosystems

Abstract:

A farmer in lowland Telangana once remarked that growing rice feels like pouring water into a leaking bucket—no matter how much goes in, the field always asks for more. This observation captures the central inefficiency of conventional transplanted rice, which consumes 3,000 to 5,000 litres of water per kilogram of grain produced. This research compared five crop establishment methods—conventional transplanting (CT), system of rice intensification (SRI), wet direct seeding (WDS), dry direct seeding (DDS), and aerobic rice (AR)—for their effects on grain yield, water use, and water productivity in lowland ecosystems at Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Warangal (Telangana) during kharif 2022. The experiment used a randomized block design with four replications at each location. CT produced the highest grain yield (5.87 t ha⁻¹ pooled) but consumed the most irrigation water (1,486 mm). AR gave the highest water productivity (0.61 kg m⁻³), using only 837 mm of water for a yield of 4.12 t ha⁻¹. SRI achieved 5.43 t ha⁻¹ with 23.1 percent less water than CT, making it the best compromise between yield and water savings. DDS saved the most labour (46%) but yielded 18.7 percent less than CT. These results suggest that SRI and WDS offer practical alternatives for lowland rice systems facing water scarcity.