Effect of Different Transplanting Dates on Yield of Basmati Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Mid-Hill Conditions of Himachal Pradesh, India

Aim: The present study optimizes, Effect of different transplanting dates on yield of basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) under mid-hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh. Place and Duration of Study: A field experiment on the Effect of different transplanting dates on yield of basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) under mid-hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh was carried out in kharif season of 2024 in the Experimental Farm of the Department of Agronomy, CSK HPKV, Palampur. Methodology: The study was performed using a Randomized Block Design (RBD) that included 9 treatments and was replicated three times. The treatments involved three distinct transplanting dates (June 5th, June 15th, and June 25th) along with three varieties (Basmati-370, Kasturi Basmati, and Pusa Basmati 1121). The experimental site's soil had a silty clay loam texture, was acidic in reaction, and contained medium levels of available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium Results: Transplanting on 5th June resulted in significantly higher yield attributes and yields compared to later transplanting dates while the lowest values for all parameters were recorded under 25th June transplanting. Among the varieties, Basmati-370 produced significantly higher number of effective tillers/m2, weight of panicle, weight of grains/panicle, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, straw yield and harvest index compared to Kasturi Basmati and Pusa Basmati 1121. Pusa Basmati 1121 recorded the lowest performance across all parameters. Conclusion: Early transplanting on 5th June combined with Basmati-370 was found to be the most suitable treatment combination for enhancing the productivity of basmati rice. This study finds the effective transplanting date and suitable variety for maximizing the yield of basmati rice on mid-hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh.