Sowing dates and establishment methods determine weed dynamics, yield and economics of rainfed lowland rice

The performance of rice cultivation is significantly influenced by agronomic practices, particularly the sowing time and the method of crop establishment. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different sowing times and establishment methods on the weed dynamics, yield and economics of rainfed lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) during Kharif 2017 and 2018. Sowing rice one week before the onset of monsoon proved to be the most effective in reducing the weed density and biomass as compared to sowing at the onset of monsoon, one week after the onset and two weeks after the onset of monsoon. However, sowing rice one week after the onset of monsoon recorded the maximum grain yield (5.29 t ha-1), net return (₹42100 ha-1) and return per rupee invested (1.93) and proved significantly superior to all other dates. Among establishment methods, the puddled transplanted rice (PTR) recorded the maximum grain yield (5.12 t ha-1), net return (₹37800 ha-1) and return per rupee invested (1.81), being at par with the non-puddled transplanted rice (NPTR) and significantly superior to direct seeded rice (DSR). The interaction effect revealed that the PTR fetched significantly higher grain yield (5.60 t ha-1) when sown one week after the onset of monsoon and it was found statistically on par with the NPTR sown one week after the onset of monsoon with a grain yield of 5.39 t ha-1.