Evaluation of rice establishment strategies for productivity and water use effectiveness in plains

Manita Das; S. Poornapushpakala; Arunkumar Devalapura Thimmappa; Fazil Hasan; Tusha; Dheeravath Raju

doi:10.31893/multirev.2025ss0103

Keywords:

rice establishment methods

direct seeded rice (DSR)

system of rice intensification (SRI)

transplanted rice (TPR)

water use efficiency (WUE)

Abstract

The efficient rice establishment methods are essential to increasing yield and maximizing the use of water, given the increasing water shortages and the importance of sustainable agriculture. In focusing their implications on the agronomic performance and water use efficiency (WUE) in plain areas, the following review examines the agronomic basis, benefits, and drawbacks of the three primary innovations of rice establishment: Transplanted Rice (TPR), System of Rice Intensification (SRI), and Direct Seeded Rice (DSR). The advantages of DSR are faster growing crops and reduced labor and water costs. Some of its disadvantages include inadequate seedling establishment, uneven crop stands, and the presence of weeds in different field conditions. SRI enhances WUE and yield possible through methods such as younger seedlings, broader spacing, and alternate wetting and drying (AWD). Although it has its compensation, it also suffers shortcomings in terms of scalability because of the troubles of mechanization and popularization. TPR remainder the predictable technique because it reliably puts crops in the ground; however, with significant demands on both the water resource and labor resources, the topic of sustainability is problematic given current resource and climatic restrictions. To better improve the efficiency of such methods, there was also the assessment of how technical innovations such as sensor-based irrigation, incorporated nutrient management, and accurate field leveling might be helpful. It accounts significantly on the substance of matching techniques to their nutrient dynamics, plant physiology, irrigation plans and soil structure, to maximize on the results. EVR-SD The research also determines the need to establish models of the agriculture of rice that are local and provide efficiently viable and ecologically sustainable conditions, with consideration to regional agro-ecological factors.
References
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3. Bhandaria, S., Khanala, S., & Dhakalb, S. (2020). Adoption of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) over puddled-Transplanted Rice (TPR) for resource conservation and increasing wheat yield. Review of Food and Agriculture (RFNA), 1(2), 44–51. http://doi.org/10.26480/rfna.02.2020.44.51
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9. Hossain, M. M., Begum, M., Hashem, A., Rahman, M., & Bell, R. W. (2021). Mulching and weed management effects on the performance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) transplanted in non-puddled soil. Journal of Wastes and Biomass Management, 3(1), 13–21. http://doi.org/10.26480/jwbm.01.2021.13.21
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19. Paudel, G. P., Justice, S. E., & McDonald, A. J. (2020). Scale-appropriate mechanization impacts on productivity among smallholders: Evidence from rice systems in the Tarai of Nepal. Land Use Policy, 94, 104542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104542
20. Ponce de León, M. A., & Bailey, B. N. (2024). Quantifying water-use efficiency in plant canopies with varying leaf angle and density distribution. Annals of Botany, 133(4), 605–620. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae018
21. Ramulu, V., Reddy, M. D., & Umadevi, M. (2020). Evaluation of water saving rice production systems. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 9(2), 658–660. http://dx.doi.org/10.22271/phyto.2020.v9.i2k.10927
22. Santiago-Arenas, R., Dhakal, S., Ullah, H., Agarwal, A., & Datta, A. (2021). Seeding, nitrogen and irrigation management optimize rice water and nitrogen use efficiency. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 120(3), 325–341.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-021-10153-6
23. Tamanna, T. A., Hossen, M. A., Al Mamun, M. R., & Shahed, A. B. M. (2021). Mitigation of biotic and abiotic stresses in mat type seedlings raised for mechanical rice transplanter. American Journal of Pure and Applied Biosciences, 3(6), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.34104/ajpab.021.01250134
24. Thakur, A. K., Mandal, K. G., Verma, O. P., & Mohanty, R. K. (2023). Do system of rice intensification practices produce rice plants phenotypically and physiologically superior to conventional practice? Agronomy, 13(4), 1098. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13041098
25. Thejaswi, J. K., Lokesha, H., & Thapa, S. (2021). Resource use efficiency among aerobic and conventional rice farms in Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka: A comparative analysis. Economic Affairs, 66(3), 439–446. http://dx.doi.org/10.46852/0424-2513.3.2021.12
26. Uphoff, N. (2023). SRI 2.0 and beyond: Sequencing the protean evolution of the System of Rice Intensification. Agronomy, 13(5), 1253. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051253
27. Yaseen, M. U., & Long, J. M. (2024). Laser weeding technology in cropping systems: A comprehensive review. Agronomy, 14(10), 2253. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14102253
28. Zhang, G., Ming, B., Shen, D., Xie, R., Hou, P., Xue, J., ... & Li, S. (2021). Optimizing grain yield and water use efficiency based on the relationship between leaf area index and evapotranspiration. Agriculture, 11(4), 313. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11040313

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Das, M., Poornapushpakala, S., Thimmappa, A. D., Hasan, F., Tusha, & Raju, D. (2025). Evaluation of rice establishment strategies for productivity and water use effectiveness in plains. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 8, 2025ss0103. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2025ss0103

[1] Barzman, M., Bàrberi, P., Birch, A. N., Boonekamp, P., Dachbrodt-Saaydeh, S., Graf, B., ... & Messean, A. (2016). Eight principles of integrated pest management. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 35, 1199–1215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-015-0327-9

[2] Bastola, A. (2020). A review on effect of establishment methods on growth, yield and yield attributes of rice and on succeeding crops after rice. International Journal for Research in Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, 7(6), 134–139. https://doi.org/10.31033/ijrasb.7.6.20

[3] Bhandaria, S., Khanala, S., & Dhakalb, S. (2020). Adoption of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) over puddled-Transplanted Rice (TPR) for resource conservation and increasing wheat yield. Review of Food and Agriculture (RFNA), 1(2), 44–51. http://doi.org/10.26480/rfna.02.2020.44.51

[4] Blesh, J., Hoey, L., Jones, A. D., Friedmann, H., & Perfecto, I. (2019). Development pathways toward “zero hunger.” World Development, 118, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.02.004

[5] Das, P. P., Singh, K. R., Nagpure, G., Mansoori, A., Singh, R. P., Ghazi, I. A., Kumar, A., & Singh, J. (2022). Plant-soil-microbes: A tripartite interaction for nutrient acquisition and better plant growth for sustainable agricultural practices. Environmental Research, 214, 113821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.113821

[6] Deb, D. (2020). Is the system of rice intensification (SRI) consonant with agroecology? Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 44(10), 1338–1369. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2020.1779165

[7] Flor, R. J., Tuan, L. A., Hung, N. V., My Phung, N. T., Connor, M., Stuart, A. M., ... & Singleton, G. R. (2021). Unpacking the processes that catalyzed the adoption of best management practices for lowland irrigated rice in the Mekong Delta. Agronomy, 11(9), 1707. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091707

[8] Hossain, K., Timsina, J., Johnson, D. E., Gathala, M. K., & Krupnik, T. J. (2020). Multi-year weed community dynamics and rice yields as influenced by tillage, crop establishment, and weed control: Implications for rice-maize rotations in the eastern Gangetic plains. Crop Protection, 138, 105334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105334

[9] Hossain, M. M., Begum, M., Hashem, A., Rahman, M., & Bell, R. W. (2021). Mulching and weed management effects on the performance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) transplanted in non-puddled soil. Journal of Wastes and Biomass Management, 3(1), 13–21. http://doi.org/10.26480/jwbm.01.2021.13.21

[10] Hussain, T., Hussain, N., Tahir, M., Raina, A., Ikram, S., Maqbool, S., ... & Duangpan, S. (2022). Impacts of drought stress on water use efficiency and grain productivity of rice and utilization of genotypic variability to combat climate change. Agronomy, 12(10), 2518. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102518

[11] Jat, R. A., Singh, R. G., & Satyanarayana, T. (2016). Conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification of cereal systems in South Asia: Innovations, impacts and future prospects. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 14(4), 377–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2016.1170710

[12] Kaur, K., Gill, K. K., Singh, P., & Sandhu, S. S. (2024). Crop establishment methods and management practices impact on rice yield parameters in central Punjab. Indian Journal of Agronomy, 69(2), 122–129. https://doi.org/10.59797/ija.v69i2.5496

[13] Kong, Y., He, W., Yuan, L., Zhang, Z., Gao, X., Zhao, Y. E., & Degefu, D. M. (2021). Decoupling economic growth from water consumption in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China. Ecological Indicators, 123, 107344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107344

[14] Lal, R. (2020). Soil organic matter content and crop yield. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 75(2), 27A–32A. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.75.2.27A

[15] Mariyappillai, A., & Arumugam, G. (2024). Water use efficiency and water productivity of aerobic rice under drip irrigation and fertigation system by using daily soil water balance. Journal of Agrometeorology, 26(2), 249–252. https://doi.org/10.54386/jam.v26i2.2550

[16] Mishra, J. S., Poonia, S. P., Kumar, R., Dubey, R., Kumar, V., Mondal, S., ... & Bhaskar, S. (2021). An impact of agronomic practices of sustainable rice-wheat crop intensification on food security, economic adaptability, and environmental mitigation across eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains. Field Crops Research, 267, 108164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108164

[17] Nazir, A., Bhat, M. A., Bhat, T. A., Fayaz, S., Mir, M. S., Basu, U., ... & El Sabagh, A. (2022). Comparative analysis of rice and weeds and their nutrient partitioning under various establishment methods and weed management practices in temperate environment. Agronomy, 12(4), 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12040816

[18] Negi, P., Rane, J., Wagh, R. S., Bhor, T. J., Godse, D. D., Jadhav, P., ... & Basavaraj, P. S. (2024). Direct-seeded rice: Genetic improvement of game-changing traits for better adaption. Rice Science, 31(4), 417–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsci.2024.04.006

[19] Paudel, G. P., Justice, S. E., & McDonald, A. J. (2020). Scale-appropriate mechanization impacts on productivity among smallholders: Evidence from rice systems in the Tarai of Nepal. Land Use Policy, 94, 104542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104542

[20] Ponce de León, M. A., & Bailey, B. N. (2024). Quantifying water-use efficiency in plant canopies with varying leaf angle and density distribution. Annals of Botany, 133(4), 605–620. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae018

[21] Ramulu, V., Reddy, M. D., & Umadevi, M. (2020). Evaluation of water saving rice production systems. Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 9(2), 658–660. http://dx.doi.org/10.22271/phyto.2020.v9.i2k.10927

[22] Santiago-Arenas, R., Dhakal, S., Ullah, H., Agarwal, A., & Datta, A. (2021). Seeding, nitrogen and irrigation management optimize rice water and nitrogen use efficiency. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 120(3), 325–341.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-021-10153-6

[23] Tamanna, T. A., Hossen, M. A., Al Mamun, M. R., & Shahed, A. B. M. (2021). Mitigation of biotic and abiotic stresses in mat type seedlings raised for mechanical rice transplanter. American Journal of Pure and Applied Biosciences, 3(6), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.34104/ajpab.021.01250134

[24] Thakur, A. K., Mandal, K. G., Verma, O. P., & Mohanty, R. K. (2023). Do system of rice intensification practices produce rice plants phenotypically and physiologically superior to conventional practice? Agronomy, 13(4), 1098. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13041098

[25] Thejaswi, J. K., Lokesha, H., & Thapa, S. (2021). Resource use efficiency among aerobic and conventional rice farms in Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka: A comparative analysis. Economic Affairs, 66(3), 439–446. http://dx.doi.org/10.46852/0424-2513.3.2021.12

[26] Uphoff, N. (2023). SRI 2.0 and beyond: Sequencing the protean evolution of the System of Rice Intensification. Agronomy, 13(5), 1253. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051253

[27] Yaseen, M. U., & Long, J. M. (2024). Laser weeding technology in cropping systems: A comprehensive review. Agronomy, 14(10), 2253. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14102253

[28] Zhang, G., Ming, B., Shen, D., Xie, R., Hou, P., Xue, J., ... & Li, S. (2021). Optimizing grain yield and water use efficiency based on the relationship between leaf area index and evapotranspiration. Agriculture, 11(4), 313. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11040313

Abstract

References

How to cite