Interactive effect of intensity and depth of puddling and water stress on the performance of rice in a sandy loam soil

摘要

Puddling reduces percolation losses of water in rice fields, the extent of reduction being a function of intensity and depth of puddling. A three year field study was undertaken on a sandy soil to analyse the interactive effect of puddling intensity, depth and water stress on grain yield of rice crop. The treatments comprised of three puddling intensities viz., unpuddled (P_0), two wet cultivations followed by one planking (medium) and four wet cultivations followed by one planking (high) each at shallow (5-6 cm) and normal (10-12 cm) depths. Average percolation rate decreased to the extent of 54-58 per cent with medium puddling but it did not increase any further significantly with high puddling. Puddling depth had no effect on percolation rate of soils. Water stress at reproductive stage significantly decreased grain yield of rice during all the three years of study. Puddling intensity and water stress interacted significantly to affect the rice grain yield. The reduction in grain yield due towater stress was more in P_0 compared to that in medium and high puddling. Interaction of puddling depth and water stress was non-significant.