Transplanting into non-puddled soils with a small-scale mechanical transplanter reduced fuel, labour and irrigation water requirements for rice (Oryza sativa L.) establishment and increased yield

摘要

Mechanizing the transplanting of rice can decrease labour requirement and costs for crop establishment. The cost of crop establishment can also be reduced by changing from conventional tillage with puddling to reduced tillage in non-puddled soil. However, mechanized rice transplanters for suitable for the small-scale fields of Asia have not been evaluated on non-puddled soils. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a 4-row walking-type mechanical rice transplanter under different tillage options for rice establishment. Field experiments were conducted on a clay loam soil in Gazipur and on a loam soil in Kushtia during the irrigated dry (Boro) season in 2012-13 and the non-irrigated wet (Arran) season in 2013. Three non-puddled soil treatments (shallow beds, strip tillage on the flat, zero tillage on the flat) were compared with conventional puddled tillage (`puddling'). The non-puddled plots were flooded 18 h before transplanting to soften the soil.