Crop Establishment Key Check 4 Sufficient Number of

Crop Establishment Key Check 4: Sufficient Number of Healthy Seedlings Part 1: Understanding the Palay. Check System

A good house requires good building materials; a goodyielding field requires healthy seedlings as planting materials.

What are healthy seedlings? § have uniform height and growth § have short leaf sheaths § have long/heavy roots § no pests and diseases

HEALTHY SEEDLINGS produce good canopy have good root system compete better with weeds can avail of sufficient sunlight and soil nutrients can easily recover from higher survival rate transplanting shock produce sufficient productive tillers with big panicles increased potential for higher yield

Assessment of Key Check 4 Transplanted rice (TPR) Followed the recommended seeding rate of 20 to 40 kg/ha for inbred and 15 to 20 kg for hybrid. Replanted missing hills within 7 days after transplanting (DAT). Assessed the hill density and health status of seedlings at 10 DAT.

Transplanted rice (TPR) How to assess the health status of seedlings? 1. Randomly select 3 sampling locations at least 1 m from the levee and in a diagonal line across the field. 2. Count the hills from each location using a 1 m x 1 m quadrat. 1 m 1 m

Transplanted rice (TPR) How to assess the health status of seedlings? 3. Add the counts and divide by 3 to get the average number of hills/m 2. There should be at least 25 hills/m 2. 4. In every parcel, randomly select 10 hills. Each hill should have at least 1 healthy seedling. 1 m 1 m

Assessment of Key Check 4 Direct wet-seeded rice (DWSR) Followed the recommended seeding rate of 40 kg/ha for row seeding and 80 kg/ha for broadcast seeding. Ensured plant density of 150 plants/hill (40 kg/ha seeding rate) or 300 plants/hill (80 kg seeding rate). Assessed the hill density and health status of seedlings at 15 days after seeding (DAS) of pregerminated seeds.

Direct wet-seeded rice (DWSR) How to assess the health status of seedlings? 1 m 1. Use a 1 m x 1 m quadrat. 1 m 2. Randomly select 3 sampling sites at least 1 m from the levee and in a diagonal line across the field. 1 m 1 m

Direct wet-seeded rice (DWSR) How to assess the health status of seedlings? 3. Count the plants from each quadrat and get the average number of plants/m 2. 4. Compute for the number of plants/m 2 by dividing the total number of plants by 3. 5. In every parcel, randomly select 10 hills. Each hill should have at least 1 healthy seedling.

Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Transplanted rice § Follow the recommended rates! Variety Inbred Hybrid Seeding rate (kg/ha) 20 -40 15 -20 Minimum Age of No. of Seedbed seedlings Area (m 2) (days) (per hill) 400 20 -25 Planting distance (cm x cm) 2 -3 20 x 20 WS 20 x 15 DS 1 -2 20 x 20 WS 20 x 15 DS

Transplanted rice Seeding rate (kg/ha) Minimum Seedbed Area (m 2) Inbred 20 -40 400 Hybrid 15 -20 400 Variety Sowing the right amount of seeds results in strong and healthy seedlings! Follow the recommended! • 40 kg inbred rice seeds are more than enough to plant a hectare field • hybrid varieties produce more tillers so their seeding rate is lower • a 20 m x 20 m seedbed allows enough space for seedlings to grow

Transplanted rice Variety Age of seedlings (days) Inbred 20 -25 Hybrid 20 -25 Follow the recommendation! • too young seedlings are susceptible to golden kuhol while too old seedlings will have difficulty recovering from transplanting stress • transplant seedlings 2 -3 cm deep.

Transplanted rice No. of seedlings (per hill) Planting distance (cm x cm) Inbred 2 -3 20 x 20 WS 20 x 15 DS Hybrid 1 -2 20 x 20 WS 20 x 15 DS Variety Follow the recommended! proper spacing increases potential yield by 25 -30% • lower number of seedlings per hill for hybrid due to its high cost and hybrid vigor • too close spacing results in mutual shading, less tillers, and in tall plants which are susceptible to lodging

Transplanted rice Do not cut the leaves of the seedlings before transplanting. The cut area can be an entry point for disease-causing organisms.

Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Transplanted rice § Establish a good seedbed. § Near a water source to ensure sufficient water for seedling growth. § With good drainage to avoid drowning germinated seeds that result in weak seedlings. § Far from fields infected with tungro and other diseases to avoid infection.

Transplanted rice § Away from light source to protect from insect pests. § Protected from rats, birds and snails that eat seeds. § Well-leveled for even distribution of water and fertilizer. § Not shaded

Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Transplanted rice § Apply organic materials before leveling the seedbed. Type of soil Fine-textured Mediumtextured Rate of application 10 -15 bags organic material or 3 -4 bags commercial organic fertilizer Seedbed size 400 m 2 No need to apply organic materials Time of application before sowing the seeds

Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Direct wet-seeded rice § Prepare the field for seeding by following the land preparation and leveling recommendations as stated in Key Check 2. § Protect pre-germinated seeds from birds, rats, snails, and weeds by following the recommended pest management practices.

Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Direct wet-seeded rice § Broadcast pre-germinated seeds evenly onto the field. § Sow extra pregerminated seeds (1 kg) on the side of the field for replanting. Replant bare patches 7 -10 DAS to avoid uneven maturity.

Input • TPR • proper seeding rate • proper seedbed establishment • proper seedling rate and spacing • assessment of seedling health status • replanting of missing hills • DWSR • proper seeding rate • proper land preparation • pest management • proper sowing of pregerminated seeds • replanting of missing hills Outcome Output • Sufficient number of healthy seedlings • good yield • good grain quality • minimal damage to environment

Crop Establishment Key Check 4: Sufficient Number of Healthy Seedlings

CREDITS Instructional presentation designer: Ms. Ev Parac Sources of technical content/reviewers of presentation: Mr. Glenn Ilar Note: Adapted from powerpoint presentations developed by: Mr. Salvador Yabes; Dr. Manny Regalado; Engr. Eugenio C. Castro, IRRI You may use, remix, tweak, For more information, visit: & build upon this presentation non-commercially. However, always use with acknowledgment. Unless otherwise stated, the names listed are Phil. Rice staffers. Produced in 2011. Text: 0920 -911 -1398

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