THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT CULTIVATION METHODS ON RICE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Cultivation is an important part in rice production which could affect rice growth and development significantly. In order to study the effect of different cultivation methods on rice performance, two land preparation ways (plough and rotary) and two rice growing techniques (direct-seed and transplanted rice) were used in present study and four cultivation methods were set as: (PD) the land was puddle twice with plough cultivator and pre-germinated seeds were hill-seeded with direct seeding machine; (RD) the land was puddle twice with rotary cultivator and pre-germinated seeds were hill seeded with direct seeding machine; (PT) the land was puddle twice with plough cultivator and 15-day old seedlings were hill-transplanted with transplant machine; (RT) the land was puddle twice with rotary cultivator and 15-day-old seedlings were hill-transplanted with transplant machine. The results showed that the highest yield was recorded in both PT and RT and the lowest yield was recorded in RD. There was no difference among different cultivation methods on net photosynthetic rate but different cultivation affected the transpiration rate and water use efficiency at different stage differently. Furthermore, the highest head rice rate and grain protein and the lowest chalky rice rate was all recorded in PD treatment. Overall, higher yield was recorded in transplanted rice cultivation than direct-seed cultivation and the greatest grain quality was observed under direct seeding rice cultivation and plough tillage conditions.