T

2008
B No. 13

Improving productivity
and livelihood for fragile
environments


The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) was established in 1960
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Suggested Citation:
IRRI (International Rice Research Institute). 2008.
Improving productivity and livelihood for fragile environments.
IRRI Technical Bulletin No. 13. Los Baños (Philippines): IRRI. 54 p.

Editing: Bill Hardy

Layout and Design: Emmanuel Panisales

ISSN 0074-7807
II
Contents

Contents....................................................................................................................III

Preface......................................................................................................................IV

Physiological basis of tolerance of flash flooding during germination

and early seedling establishment in rice..........................................................................1
Abdelbagi M. Ismail, Evangelina S. Ella, Gina Vergara, Donna F. Holt-Stevens,
Alvaro Pamplona, and Dave Mackill

Salinity tolerance in rice: physiological bases and implications

for management strategies for better crop establishment.................................................8
Abdelbagi M. Ismail, Babita Thapa, and James Egdane

Opportunities for direct seeding and improved weed control in the

Barind of Bangladesh...................................................................................................15
M.A. Mazid, C.R. Riches, A.M. Mortimer, and D.E. Johnson

Breeding for submergence tolerance.............................................................................20

D.J. Mackill, A.M. Ismail, S. Heuer, E. Septiningsih, A.M. Pamplona, R.M. Rodriguez,
C.N. Neeraja, D. Sanchez, K. Iftekhar, and G. Vergara

Participatory varietal selection of salinity-tolerant rice for the

coastal wetlands of Bangladesh....................................................................................27
M.A. Salam, G.B. Gregorio, D.L. Adorada, and R.D. Mendoza

Increasing profits from rice production in Bangladesh:

direct wet seeding of rice using a plastic drum seeder.....................................................32
M. Zainul Abedin

Characterizing and understanding the socioeconomic conditions

of farming households in rainfed rice environments: a case
in eastern Uttar Pradesh..............................................................................................36
T. Paris, A.D. Cueno, and A. Singh

III
Preface

Improving Productivity and Livelihood for Fragile Environments is one of

IRRI’s four programs and 11 projects stipulated in its Medium-Term Plan
for 2006-2008. The Medium-Term Plan (MTP) for 2006-2008 reflects IRRI’s
core agenda in addressing current and emerging problems in rice. It is guided
by the broad framework of the strategic plan outlined in the document
IRRI Toward 2020 published in 1996, and updated in November 2003. It also
takes advantage of the scientific opportunities that assist the Institute in
reaching its goals.

Improving Productivity and Livelihood for Fragile Environments is

Program 3 of the MTP for 2006-2008. It examines risk reduction in rice
cultivation. The program also focuses on helping increase yield and farm
income via the development of stress-tolerant better-yielding varieties
using efficient crop management practices.

In the past, the probability of success in research for building tolerance for
abiotic stresses into better-yielding varieties was low, leading to inadequate
allocation of research resources to solve these problems. But with the
recent advances in molecular biology for tagging and characterizing
genes and their transfer to other species, the probability of success in this
area brightened. Since the environments are diverse and their domains
vary across countries, the research is being done in partnership with the
national agricultural research and extension systems, drawing on local
scientific expertise and farmers’ indigenous knowledge.

Program 3: Improving Productivity and Livelihood for Fragile

Environments attempts to solve the abovementioned problems in three
projects―Project 7: Genetic enhancement for improving productivity and human
health in fragile environments; Project 8: Natural resource management for rainfed
lowland and upland rice ecosystems; and Project 9: Consortium for Unfavorable
Rice Environments (CURE).

This Technical Bulletin showcases the studies and research results from
each of the projects under Program 3.

IV
Physiological basis of tolerance of flash flooding during
germination and early seedling establishment in rice
Abdelbagi M. Ismail, Evangelina S. Ella, Gina Vergara, Donna F. Holt-Stevens, Alvaro Pamplona, and Dave Mackill
More than 16 million ha of lowland and
deepwater rice areas are unfavorably affected
by flooding because of complete submergence.
Rice is the only crop plant adapted to aquatic
environments because of its well-developed
aerenchyma tissue that facilitates oxygen
diffusion through continuous air spaces from
shoot to root and avoids anoxia development
in roots. However, complete submergence
due to frequent flooding can adversely affect
plant growth and yield. Two types of flooding
cause damage to rice: flash flooding, which
results in rapid ascending of water levels with
complete submergence for about 1–2 weeks,
and deep water, in which water depth exceeds
100 cm and persists for longer periods of up to
several months. Plants may become completely
submerged for short periods if flooding
is severe. Elongation ability of leaves and
internodes is essential in deepwater conditions
to keep pace with the rising water levels and
to escape complete submergence. Traditional
varieties adapted to these environments are
low yielding because of their low-tillering
ability, susceptibility to lodging, and poor grain
quality.
Flash flooding can occur any time during
the growing season and usually occurs more
than once. It is usually more damaging if
it occurs early in the season, particularly
during early crop establishment. This is
because younger seedlings are more sensitive
to flooding. In direct-seeded areas, even
waterlogging can be devastating because of the
high sensitivity of all crop plants to low oxygen
during germination.
Tolerance of flooding during germination
and early seedling establishment
The likelihood of occurrence of flash flooding
at different stages of growth requires different
tolerance strategies. In rainfed lowlands, direct
seeding is becoming more popular because of
the escalating expense and scarcity of labor, and
farmers are also enthusiastic to adopt it because
of its additional benefits such as shortening
crop duration and the enhanced tolerance of
some stresses, particularly drought. Breeding
cultivars with tolerance of flooding during
germination and early seedling establishment
will help avoid crop failures commonly
encountered when early flooding occurs in both
rainfed and irrigated ecosystems. Moreover,
maintaining a shallow water head after
seeding under irrigated conditions can help
suppress weed growth and this could provide
an effective, cheap, and sustainable method
for weed management. However, this practice
is stalled by the unavailability of suitable
germplasm. Previous studies showed that rice
is capable of germination underwater, but this
capability is limited to coleoptile elongation,
with failure to develop further.
In an attempt to discern rice germplasm
with higher tolerance of submergence during
germination, we screened more than 8,000
genebank accessions and breeding lines and
a few tolerant lines were identified. Screening
was conducted by direct dry seeding in plastic
trays containing a shallow layer of soil. Seeds
of individual lines were sown in rows and
immediately submerged by adding water to a
depth of 10 cm. This depth is maintained for
2–3 weeks, when the percentage of seeds that
germinate and successfully emerge from water

 Table 1. Rice accessions most tolerant of flooding during is determined. Through this method, about 12
germination. lines were identified as being tolerant (Table 1)
Cultivar Origin Percent survival and the tolerance of some of them was further
(first screening) confirmed in replicated trials (Fig. 1A,B).
Khaiyan – 90
Khao Hlan On Myanmar 75 Traits associated with tolerance of flooding
Cody United States 70 during germination and early growth
Dholamon 64-3 Bangladesh 80 Tolerant lines and a few intolerant checks were
Liu-Tiao-Nuo China 70 evaluated for some agronomic traits to test
Ma-Zhan (Red) China 90 their association with tolerance. A subset of
Sossoka Guinea 85
these is shown in Table 2. Tolerant cultivars
Kaolack Guinea 85
vary substantially with respect to mature plant
Kalonchi – 90
height, days to flowering, and average grain
Nanhi India 80
weight. This variation provides opportunities
IR68552-100-1-2-2-2 NPT-IRRI 75
for breeders to select appropriate parental lines
IR68552-100-1-3-2 NPT-IRRI 55
for crossing to incorporate this trait. Tolerant
lines seem to emerge faster from the soil and
water (by about 2–3 d and 2–4 d, respectively)
when compared with intolerant lines. The
Seedling survival (%)
100 strong negative correlation of survival with
A time of emergence from soil (R = –0.97) and
80
water (R = –0.95) indicated that fast germination
Not submerged
60 Submerged and growth under hypoxic conditions is crucial
40 for survival. However, survival did not correlate
with plant height at maturity, days to flowering,
20
or average grain weight.
0
FR13A IR42
Tolerant cultivars tend to grow faster
Khaiyan Khao Hlan On
Tolerant Intolerant underwater, produce taller seedlings with
more leaves, and attain greater leaf area than
intolerant lines (Fig. 2), traits
Seedling survival (%) after dry seeding and submergence for 21 d
100 that might also be useful for
weed competitiveness early
B
in the season.
80

Germination under anoxia

60 LSD 0.05 (absence of O2)
Six tolerant and two sensitive
40 cultivars were evaluated for
their ability to germinate
20 under anoxia. Seeds were
sterilized using sodium
0 hypochloride and tween
Cody Khaiyan Kalonch Nanh Khao FR13A IR22 IR28 IR42 IR64 20, and then placed in a
Hlan On
Tolerant Intolerant 1% stagnant agar solution
deoxygenated by continuous
Fig. 1. Average survival of selected lines over two separate replicated experiments. Vertical bars
indicate (A) S.E. and (B) LSD0.05. bubbling of nitrogen gas.


 Table 2. Comparison between selected tolerant and sensitive lines for selected agronomic traits and their associa-
tion with survival.
Cultivar Origin Days to flowering Mature height 1,000-seed wt. Days to emergence Survival (%)
(cm) Soil Water
Tolerant lines
Dholamon Bangladesh 72 203 11.5 4 9 81
Liu-Tiao-Nuo China 61 143 27.0 4 9 72
Khaiyan ? 66 160 8.1 5 11 74
Khao Hlan On Myanmar 85 145 8.3 4 9 73
Intolerant lines
IR64 Philippines 65 130 20.0 7 13 7
FR13A India 70 167 9.7 7 13 10
IR42 Philippines 73 115 8.4 7 13 9
Correlation with –0.47 0.50 –0.002 –0.97 –0.95
survival

Coleoptile length (cm) Coleoptile length (cm)

8 3

6
2

1
2

0 0
Seedling height (cm) Root length (cm) Leaf area (cm2) Aerated tap water Anoxic agar

Fig. 2. Average shoot height, root length, and leaf area of five tolerant Fig. 3. Average coleoptile length of six tolerant (open
(shaded columns) and three intolerant (black columns) cultivars columns) and two intolerant (black columns) cultivars under
germinated underwater. Results are means of 3 replicates taken anoxia and aerated conditions. Data are from 7-d-old seedlings
21 d after seeding. and vertical bars indicate ± S.E.

Evaluation of percent germination, length of
coleoptiles, as well as appearance of roots was
carried out after 7 d of continuous anoxia.
Tolerant lines had greater coleoptile length
under both anoxic and normal conditions
(Fig. 3).
Physiological mechanisms associated with
tolerance of flooding during germination
Total amylase activity
The ability to break down starches into simple
sugars is a major factor limiting germination
under flooded conditions. This is because of
the high sensitivity of key enzymes involved
in this process to low oxygen. Total amylase
activity was measured using two tolerant and
two sensitive lines germinated in flooded
soils for 3 days. The activity of these enzymes
increased substantially in germinating seeds of
tolerant lines under flooding but did not change
significantly in sensitive lines (Fig. 4). Higher
activity of these enzymes in germinating seeds
of tolerant lines under flooding indicated that
these lines are able to break down stored starch
into simple sugars better than sensitive lines,
and this step is essential for germination and
growth. Metabolic breakdown of simple sugars
is much less sensitive to low oxygen than the


 Amylase activity (units mg–1 protein) Plant survival (%)
50 6
A B

40 Not submerged
Submerged

4
30

20
R = 0.92
2

10

0 0
Khaiyan Khao Hlan On FR13A IR42 10 20 30 40 50
Tolerant Intolerant Amylase activity

Fig. 4. (A) Total amylase activity in germinating seeds of two tolerant and two intolerant rice cultivars sown in submerged soils for 3 days.
Vertical bars are S.E. (B) Correlation between amylase activity and seedling survival.

processes involved in starch degradation. Ethylene content (mg seedling –1)

30
Total activities of these enzymes correlated
Khao Hlan On (N)
positively with shoot and root length (R = 0.85, Khao Hlan On (S)
25
0.83, respectively), and with plant survival (Fig. IR42 (N)
4B), suggesting a strong relationship between IR42 (S)
20
the activity of these enzymes and the ability of
seeds to germinate and seedlings to grow under 15
submerged conditions.
10
Plant hormones
Germinating seeds of tolerant lines produced 5
more ethylene than susceptible ones under
submergence (Fig. 5). Ethylene is known 0
4 5 7 8 10
to counteract ABA synthesis and increase Days of incubation in soil
synthesis of and sensitivity to GA. High Fig. 5. Ethylene content of germinating seeds of one tolerant and one
levels of ABA in seeds are associated with the sensitive line under submerged conditions. N = normal, S = stress.
inhibition of seed germination and dormancy;
however, high GA is associated with activation matrix polysaccharides, both of which are
of amylase enzymes and breakdown of stored associated with reduced cell wall extensibility.
starches to be used for further growth of Higher peroxidase activity is closely associated
germinating seeds. with reduced growth in other plants such
as in mung bean and peanut. We measured
Peroxidase activity peroxidase activity in germinating seeds of two
Peroxidases are responsible for the assembly tolerant (Khaiyan and Khao Hlan On) and two
of lignins and proteins in the cell wall and sensitive (R64 and IR22) cultivars to evaluate
for the binding of ferulic acid to cell walls its involvement in growth under low-oxygen
by the formation of diferuloyl cross-links to conditions. Tolerant genotypes showed much


less peroxidase activity than intolerant ones Peroxidase activity (µg α-naphthylamine consumed g –1 DW h –1)
(Fig. 6A). A strong negative correlation was 15
observed between peroxidase activity and A
shoot growth (R = –0.69) and seedling survival
12
(Fig. 6B). The ability of seedlings to elongate
underwater and emerge quickly is critical for LSD 0.05
9
survival. This may also suggest that lower
peroxidase activity in seedlings germinating
6
under anoxia could be used as an indicator for
ability to germinate and grow under flooded
conditions. 3

Nonstructural carbohydrate content and ex- 0

Khaiyan Khao Hlan On IR64 IR22
pression of key enzymes involved in carbo- Tolerant Intolerant
hydrate catabolism % survival
Nonstructural carbohydrate content. Seed starch 60
and soluble sugars are the main sources of B
energy for embryo growth in germinating seeds
and, under anaerobic conditions, breakdown of
starch into sugars decreases greatly because of 40
R = –0.72
reduced activity or expression of the enzymes
involved in starch catabolism under low-oxygen
conditions. Comparisons of total starch levels 20
were made between tolerant Khaiyan and
intolerant IR42 from 0 to 5 d of hypoxia (0.03
mol O2 m–3). We found that total starch was
always higher for the tolerant cultivar for up to 0
0 3 6 9 12
5 d of hypoxia and did not change significantly
Peroxidase activity
between time points. The availability of total
soluble sugars (TSS) was compared between Fig. 6. (A) Peroxidase activity in seedlings incubated in anoxic
tolerant Khaiyan and intolerant IR42 at 0 agar solution for 5 d and (B) correlation between peroxidase
activity and seedling survival. Vertical bar in A indicates LSD
d, 1 d, 3 d, and 5 d of hypoxia. TSS levels at at P = 0.05.
0 d (25 to 32 µg per seed dry wt.) were not
significantly different between tolerant and
intolerant rice cultivars. However, after 1 d of Alpha-amylases. Starches are a major energy
hypoxic treatment, availability of TSS declined source for developing rice embryos and the
rapidly, by 60%, and then increased at 3 d in total amylases needed to break them down
germinating embryos. We found significant were generally found to be higher for tolerant
differences in TSS between tolerant Khaiyan cultivars under low-oxygen or submerged
and intolerant IR42 starting at 3 d and up to conditions than for intolerant lines. Analyses
5 d of hypoxia (Fig. 7). The increased levels of transcriptional activity of rice α-amylases
of available TSS may stem from the higher (RAmy1A, RAmy2A, RAmy3C, RAmy3D, and
carbohydrate breakdown brought about by RAmy3E) were performed using RT-PCR of
the higher amylase activity found in Khaiyan, RNA extracted from germinating embryos
which in turn contributes to the greater ability of tolerant (Khaiyan) and intolerant (IR42)
of Khaiyan to survive flooding and low-oxygen genotypes subjected to hypoxia: air (0.25 mol O2
stress during germination. m–3) or anoxia (<0.003 mol O2 m–3) treatments for


 transcriptional activity of sucrose synthase
Total soluble sugars (µg per seed dry wt.) patterns in tolerant and intolerant rice embryos
35 showed no differences between treatments
30
Khaiyan under aerated conditions or during hypoxia
IR42 or anoxia. We showed the induction of Sus1
25
during the first 72 h of treatment, whereas Sus3
20 activity was completely shut down after 24 h of
treatment (Fig. 8). Overall, the result suggests
15
that Sus1, but not Sus3, appeared to contribute
10 to sucrose degradation during germination.
Pyruvate decarboxylases and alcohol
5
dehydrogenases. Rice seedlings under low-oxygen
0 stress are capable of survival for a limited time
0 1 3 5
Treatment days by shifting to the fermentative pathway to
generate ATP for cellular metabolism. Using
Fig. 7. Total soluble sugars of Khaiyan and IR42 at different time
points after hypoxia treatment.
RT-PCR analyses, we showed that Pdc1, Adh1,
and Adh2 transcripts were induced during
the first 72 h of rice seedling growth whether
0 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. Rice α-amylases
in air or under hypoxic or anoxic conditions
(RAmy1A, RAmy3C, RAmy3D, and RAmy3E)
(Fig. 8). Although oxidative phosphorylation
generally showed up-regulation starting at 12
provides major ATP needs for rapid growth
h following treatment (Fig. 8). RAmy2A was not
under aerobic conditions, our results showed
expressed. During hypoxia, RAmy3D, which
that germinating rice embryos do experience
is important for oligosacharride degradation,
anaerobic conditions and partly use the
showed relatively higher expression in the
fermentative pathway to generate energy.
tolerant Khaiyan than in the intolerant IR42.
PDC and ADH activity. For total PDC
RAmy1A, which breaks down soluble starch,
and ADH enzyme activity levels, marked
was less induced during anoxia but not during
differences were observed between tolerant and
hypoxia in tolerant cultivars. No differences
intolerant cultivars under hypoxic compared
in expression levels were found for RAmy3C
with aerobic conditions (Fig. 9). PDC activity
and RAmy3E in the three O2 regimes. Using
was 1.6x higher immediately after 12 h of
RT-PCR analyses, we found that rice α-
amylases were rapidly induced in germinating
embryos. RAmy3D, a key and major enzyme for Hypoxia Air Anoxia

carbohydrate use for germinating embryos, was

Khaiyan IR42 Khaiyan IR42 Khaiyan IR42
H o u rs 0 12 24 48 72 0 12 24 48 72 24 48 72 24 48 72 24 48 72 2 4 48 7 2

expressed at higher levels in tolerant cultivars RAmy1A

during hypoxia and this probably helps provide RAmy3C

and sustain energy during germination. RAmy3D

Sucrose synthases. Sucrose is another major RAmy3E

energy source for germinating embryos. It Sus1

can be hydrolyzed via the sucrose synthase Sus3

(Sus) pathway or the invertase pathway. Under

Pdc1

Adh1
low-O2 stress, Sus transcript levels increase Adh2
while those of invertase decrease, suggesting Gapdh
that sucrose synthase is the principal enzyme
that converts sucrose to phosphorylated Fig 8. RT-PCR of key enzymes involved in carbohydrate
hexose under low oxygen. Comparison of metabolism.


PDC levels (µ min –1 mg –1 protein) ADH levels (µ min –1 mg –1 protein)
1.2 1.4
A Air Khaiyan B
1.2
1.0 Air IR42
Hypoxia Khai
1.0
Hypoxia IR42
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.6
0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0
0h 12 h 24 h 48 h 72 h
0h 12 h 24 h 48 h 72 h

Fig 9. (A) PDC and (B) ADH activities. Means with the same letter are statistically not different at each time point. The asterisks indicate
significant differences between genotypes and treatment at particular time point (P<0.01). Vertical bars indicate ± S.E.

hypoxia in tolerant Khaiyan and 1.48x higher
for intolerant IR42. At the end of 72 h, PDC
levels increased 4x for Khaiyan and only 2x
for IR42 under hypoxic vs. aerobic conditions.
PDC levels were significantly higher in Khaiyan
than in IR42 germinating seeds from 12 h to
72 h. ADH activity was also higher in Khaiyan
than in IR42 after 24 h of hypoxia treatment.
The tolerant cultivar Khaiyan showed as much
as 3x greater ADH activity compared with
only a 1.5x increase in the intolerant IR42 after
72 h of hypoxia compared with that under
aerated conditions. The higher PDC and ADH
activities suggest the involvement of the alcohol
fermentation pathway in the tolerant cultivars
during hypoxia. Higher PDC and ADH
enzyme activity probably supports the faster
growth and development of tolerant lines than
intolerant ones during hypoxia.
greater soluble sugars, particularly a few days
after imbibition under hypoxia, and maintain
higher activity of the key enzymes involved in
anaerobic respiration (ADH and PDC). Further
studies are ongoing to establish the full array
of physiological and biochemical mechanisms
associated with tolerance as well as to unravel
their genetic bases. Backcross populations were
developed and are being used to map this trait.
Crosses were also made and are being selected
and advanced to incorporate tolerance into
modern varieties, for both irrigated and rainfed
ecosystems.

Conclusions
These studies demonstrated substantial genetic
variation in rice in ability to germinate and
establish underwater; however, the trait is
relatively rare. Tolerance is associated with
faster root and shoot growth and leaf area
development, faster coleoptile growth under
hypoxia and anoxia, enhanced activity of
total amylases, increased ethylene levels in
germinating seeds, and lower peroxidase
activity. Tolerant lines also seem to maintain


Salinity tolerance in rice: physiological bases and implications
for management strategies for better crop establishment
Abdelbagi M. Ismail, Babita Thapa, and James Egdane
In most coastal areas, salinity is high in both
soil and water during the dry season, mostly
between December and July, and with the
peak during May-June. Salinity then decreases
progressively with time after the onset of the
monsoon season. This poses great challenges
for farming during the dry season, when
most of these areas are often left barren or are
grown to limited short-maturing crops when
freshwater resources are available. For wet-
season rice, the main problems are encountered
during crop establishment in June-July, when
salinity is still high at the beginning of the
rainy season. This is particularly important
because rice is highly sensitive to salt stress
during early seedling growth, which is a major
obstacle because of high seedling mortality and
difficulty in establishing a sufficient crop stand.
Varieties with reasonable genetic tolerance as
well as proper management strategies during
crop establishment are needed to ensure a good
stand to significantly enhance and stabilize
productivity in these coastal areas.
For transplanted rice, damage to young
seedlings is further provoked by the fact
that more salt is absorbed passively through
the injured roots, coupled with the fact that
seedling growth and uptake of nutrients are
greatly hindered during the first week after
transplanting and until the seedlings are well
established. Osmotic stress of the soil solution
together with a massive uptake of salts and
low nutrient uptake will make nutritional
deficiencies even higher for some minerals and
toxicities of others, causing higher seedling
mortality and poor stand establishment. Based
on our understanding of the mechanisms
associated with tolerance of salt stress, we
attempt to develop management strategies

that can reduce seedling mortality after
transplanting and enhance crop establishment.
Another objective is to compare rice cultivars
contrasting in tolerance of salt stress for their
responsiveness to such stress-mitigating
options.
Nursery management for enhanced seed-
ling survival
The effects of seedling N status, seedling age,
and handling at transplanting on seedling
survival after transplanting in saline soils
were investigated. Two rice lines were used,
a moderately tolerant variety, IR64, and a
tolerant breeding line, IR651-4B-10-3 (referred
to as IR651 henceforth). The two cultivars were
grown in grid plastic trays, with one seedling
per partition and half of the seedlings supplied
with extra N at planting. Twenty-d-old and 40-
d-old seedlings with and without N treatments
were transplanted either after washing their
roots or with soil left attached to their root
system (unwashed). The trial was repeated once
with 4 replications each time.
Average standard evaluation system (SES)
scores of 6.4 and 1 were observed for plants
grown under salt stress and normal conditions,
respectively (Table 1). Average scores were
significantly lower for the tolerant cultivar
(5.1) than for the moderately tolerant cultivar
(7.8), suggesting that IR651 experienced less
salt injury and had better growth under salt
stress than IR64. Likewise, transplanting older
seedlings and seedlings with soil attached
to their roots resulted in substantially better
overall growth as evidenced from visual
observations. The artificially salinized plot
seems ideal for evaluating plants for salt stress
 Table 1. Standard evaluation system (SES) scores and per- Table 2. Correlations of seedling survival with dry weight and
centage survival of rice seedlings as affected by cultivar, age carbohydrate content at transplanting.
of seedlings in the nursery, and seedling handling under salt
stress and normal conditions. Measurements were taken 20 Trait R-valuea
d after transplanting. Seedling dry weight 0.65**
Variables SES scores % survival Green leaf area 0.60*

Cultivar Root dry weight 0.68**

IR651 5.06 55.9 Shoot dry weight 0.62*

IR64 7.75 37.7 Total carbohydrates 0.62**

Seedling age Stem starch 0.60*

20 days old 7.56 35.4 Leaf starch 0.68**

40 days old 5.20 58.2 Shoot starch 0.52*

Seedling handling Root starch 0.40 ns

Roots washed
Roots not washed
Salinity
EC 8 dS m–1
Normal
Significance
Cultivar
Age
Seedling handling
Salinity
LSD0.05 (others)
LSD0.05 for salinity
a
*,**, *** = significant at P< 0.05, 0.01, and 0.001, respectively.
tolerance where a drastic reduction (53%) in
plant establishment was observed compared
with the normal plot (100%). Using older
seedlings and seedlings transplanted with soil
intact on roots showed survival of 58% and
56% compared with 35% and 39% for younger
seedlings and seedlings with their roots
washed before transplanting, respectively. The
salt-tolerant line IR651 maintained significantly
higher seedling survival than IR64. These
results showed that survival of seedlings
transplanted in saline soils could be enhanced
substantially if older seedlings of tolerant
varieties were used, particularly if their roots
were protected during transplanting.
Older seedlings have higher shoot and root
dry weights and green leaf area; they also
maintain higher starch content in the shoot, all
of which are positively associated with survival
a
ns = not significant; *, ** = significant at P< 0.05 and 0.01, respectively.
6.93 38.6
5.87 55.6
after transplanting (Table 2). High nonstructural
6.40 46.9 carbohydrates in shoot and root could probably
1.00 100.0
act as a reserve source of energy at the time of
transplanting to overcome the period of slow
***a **
growth until the transplanted seedlings retain
*** ***
their full capacity for photosynthetic carbon
** ***
fixation.
*** ***
The older seedlings were taller and
0.47 3.3
experienced less reduction in plant height
0.23 7.0
under salt stress than the younger ones. IR651
had more tillers per plant under both saline and
normal conditions and showed significantly
lower reduction in tiller number under salinity.
Younger seedlings produced more tillers per
plant under normal conditions whereas the
older seedlings produced more tillers under
saline conditions and transplanted younger
seedlings showed a higher percent reduction
in tiller number (61%) than the older seedlings
(41%) under salt stress. Salt stress delayed
maturity by about 11 d, with greater delays in
younger seedlings when roots are washed and
in sensitive cultivars (Table 3).
This study demonstrated that salinity stress
at transplanting can reduce seedling survival
by >50% and further decrease grain yield of
surviving plants by about 37%, mainly because
of a reduction in number of panicles per plant
as determined by the number of surviving
tillers and number of spikelets per panicle.
Grain yield under salt stress also correlated
positively with the number of panicles per plant


 Table 3. Plant height, tiller number at 20 d after transplanting, and days to maturity as affected by cultivar, seedling
age, and handling under salt stress and normal conditions. Values are means of 4 replications.

Item Plant height (cm) Tiller number Days to maturity

Normal EC 8 % change Normal EC 8 % change Normal EC 8 % change
Cultivar
IR65192 50.5 39.5 27.8 10.37 5.52 46.77 114.6 120.9 6.3
IR64 48.1 44.2 8.1 9.81 3.92 60.04 98.0 114.6 16.6
Age of seedlings
20 days old 41.4 33.4 19.3 10.71 4.14 61.44 105.4 118.8 13.4
40 days old 51.5 43.2 16.1 9.48 5.58 41.13 107.4 116.9 9.5
Seedling handling
Roots washed 51.7 42.9 16.9 9.30 5.02 46.02 106.9 122.8 15.9
Roots not washed 48.1 40.1 16.7 10.80 5.03 53.42 105.9 113.8 7.9

Salinity 49.2 41.0 16.6 10.08 5.03 50.01 106.42 117.9 11.7
Significancea LSD0.05 Significance LSD0.05 Significance LSD0.05
Cultivar ns – ** 0.49 *** 2.11
Age ** 3.7 * 0.50 ns –
Seedling handling ns – ns – *** 2.04
Salinity *** 3.1 *** 0.51 ** 2.06
Cultivar*salinity ns – *** 0.69 ** 1.98
a
ns = not significant; *, **, *** = significant at P < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001, respectively.

and spikelets per panicle and to a lesser extent amendments suggests that combining salt
with individual grain weight but not with tolerance with proper nursery and seedling
fertility. This is probably because salinity stress handling options can substantially improve
declined gradually 30 d after transplanting crop establishment and early growth in salt-
to simulate the actual conditions of coastal affected areas, which can later be reflected in
saline areas, and number of panicles as well higher grain yield.
as spikelets was determined earlier. Fertility,
on the other hand, is mainly affected by pollen Nutrient management to enhance seedling
grain development and pollination, both of establishment under direct seeding
which occur at a time when salinity stress is Despite the well-documented beneficial effects
low. The negative effects on individual grain of Ca+ in mitigating salt stress in different
weight are probably because of the effect of plant species, contrasting observations were
early stress on photosynthetic leaf area and noted in rice. This is probably because in most
stored assimilates. Older seedlings had higher of the studies conducted so far, only one or a
dry matter and starch content that correlated few sensitive lines were used. Salt stress often
positively with seedling survival under salt coexists with P deficiency because affected soils
stress. are often either acidic (saline) or alkaline (sodic),
In summary, seedlings transplanted with and both conditions promote P fixation in forms
protected roots had higher shoot dry matter, that are poorly available for plants. Thus, the
less salt uptake, and earlier maturity. The induced P deficiency in these soils could further
positive consequences of using older seedlings worsen the detrimental effects of salt stress
and root protection are more evident in the with consequent high seedling mortality. Salt
salt-tolerant IR651 than in the moderately tolerance is also associated with restricted toxic
tolerant IR64. This enhanced responsiveness ion absorption and adequate uptake of essential
of the salt-tolerant cultivar to stress-mitigating inorganic nutrients, such as K+, to overcome the

10
nutritional imbalances caused by salinity stress.
Here, we attempt to investigate the effects of
calcium and phosphorus in enhancing tolerance
of salt stress and in reducing seedling mortality.
Furthermore, we used rice cultivars contrasting
in salinity tolerance to test whether differential
responses to additional Ca2+ and P could be
observed in these genotypes. Two experiments
were conducted using culture solutions; in each
experiment, two levels of P (2 and 10 µL L–1)
and three levels of Ca2+ (20, 40, and 60 µL L–1)
were used under normal or salt stress (12 dS
m–1) conditions. Three rice cultivars were used,
one tolerant (IR651), one moderately tolerant
(IR64), and one sensitive (IR29).
The tolerant line had higher leaf area, higher
root and shoot dry weight, and lower SES
scores when evaluated 3 weeks after the start
of the stress treatment (Table 4). The addition
of higher levels of P and Ca2+ enhanced leaf
area; however, P enhanced shoot growth while
Ca2+ enhanced root growth under salt stress.
Higher levels of both nutrients resulted in better
tolerance of salt stress across cultivars as shown
by the significantly lower SES scores.
Increasing P from 2 µL L–1 to 10 µL L–1 in
the nutrient solution resulted in about a 145%
increase in P concentration in shoots. It also
enhanced the uptake of Mg2+ and Ca2+ and
significantly reduced Na+ concentration in
plant tissue under salt stress. However, the
effect of higher P was greater in IR64, followed
by IR651, and with IR29 showing an opposite
effect, in which Na+ concentration in plant
tissue increased at higher P. This result suggests
that tolerant and moderately tolerant cultivars
are more responsive to higher P in a nutrient
medium.
Increasing calcium concentration in the
culture solution significantly reduced sodium
concentration in shoots of all three cultivars
and with a relatively greater reduction

Table 4. Leaf area (cm2 seedling–1), shoot and root dry weights (g), and SES scores of rice cultivars
under normal conditions and salt stress (12 dS m–1) measured 21 d after the start of a salt-stress
treatment.
Item Leaf area Shoot dry wt. Root dry wt. SES scores
Normal Stress Normal Stress Normal Stress Normal Stress

Cultivar
IR29 43.6 19.8 0.407 0.215 0.246 0.054 2.00 8.83
IR64 54.7 33.2 0.460 0.312 0.236 0.079 1.91 7.83
IR651 62.7 36.4 0.444 0.348 0.301 0.103 1.91 6.36
Phosphorus
2 µL L–1 50.6 26.3 0.408 0.270 0.165 0.081 2.90 7.83
10 µL L–1 56.8 33.3 0.466 0.313 0.160 0.077 1.00 7.52
Calcium
20 µL L–1 52.2 24.9 0.415 0.283 0.242 0.066 2.00 8.14
40 µL L–1 53.4 27.7 0.454 0.294 0.262 0.082 1.92 7.78
60 µL L–1 55.5 36.7 0.444 0.297 0.280 0.089 1.92 7.11
Mean 53.7 29.8 0.437 0.292 0.237 0.079 1.94 7.67
Significancea
Salinity (S)
Cultivar (C) *** *** *** ***
Phosphorus (P) *** *** *** ***
Calcium (Ca) *** *** ns ***
** ns *** ***
LSD0.05
Salinity 4.1 0.056 0.020 0.51
Cultivar 3.6 0.048 0.018 0.46
P 2.9 0.039 – 0.11
Ca 3.6 – 0.018 0.46

11
 Na+ total uptake in roots (µg SDW–1) Na+ uptake in shoots (µg SDW–1)
18 70
A D
14 60
13 Ca 20 ppm
50
Ca 40 ppm
10 Ca 60 ppm 40
8
30
6
20
4

10
2

0 0
K+ total uptake in roots (µg SDW–1) K+ uptake in shoots (µg SDW–1)
8 70
B E
60

6
50

40
4
30

20
3
10

0 0

N /K ratio in roots
+ +
N+/K+ ratio in shoots
2.5 3.5
C F
3.0
2.0
2.5
1.5
2.0

1.5
1.0

1.0
0.5
0.5

0.0 0.0
IR29 IR64 IR651 IR29 IR64 IR651
Cultivar Cultivar

Fig. 1. Uptake of Na+ and K+ and Na+/K+ ratio in roots (A, B, C) and shoots (D, E, F) of three contrasting rice cultivars as affected by different
levels of Ca2+ in nutrient solution. SDW = shoot dry weight, RDW = root dry weight. Vertical bars indicate standard error.

12
with increasing genetic tolerance. Sodium
concentration decreased by 14%, 24%, and 35%
in IR29, IR64, and IR651, respectively, with
increasing Ca2+ concentration from 20 to 60
µL L–1. This also suggests that the response
to higher calcium under salt stress is strongly
dependent on the level of tolerance, with salt-
tolerant cultivars being substantially more
responsive. This is also clearly reflected in the
total uptake of sodium in the shoot of salt-
tolerant cultivars, in which total uptake was
substantially lower in IR651 under higher
calcium in the nutrient solution (Fig. 1D).
Potassium concentration in plant tissue as well
as total uptake into shoots (Fig. 1E) increased
with increasing calcium concentration.
Consequently, Na+/K+ ratio in shoots decreased
significantly with increasing concentrations of
calcium in the growth medium (Fig. 1F). Under
salt stress, increasing Ca2+ levels also increased
Ca2+ concentrations in all cultivars, but with a
greater increase in IR651 and IR64, in which it
increased by about 19% and 17%, respectively,
compared with only 8% in IR29. Higher Ca2+
concentrations also reduced Na+/Ca2+ ratios in
all cultivars.
Root total Na+ uptake increased with
increasing Ca2+ concentration in the culture
solution in all cultivars (Fig. 1A), which
contrasts with the trend observed for total
sodium uptake into shoots, particularly in IR651
(Fig. 1D). Salt-tolerant cultivar IR651 showed
the highest total sodium uptake into roots,
whereas salt-sensitive cultivar IR29 showed
the lowest Na+ uptake into roots. This greater
compartmentation of sodium into roots of IR651
may partially explain its greater tolerance of
salt stress, which seems to be further enhanced
by supplementary Ca2+. Higher Na+ in roots
could also act as an osmoticum to allow water
uptake into roots of tolerant lines without
much detriment to shoot growth. Total uptake
of K+ into roots also increased with increasing
calcium concentration in the nutrient solution
and with the uptake being relatively higher
in IR651, followed by IR64. Thus, Na+/K+ ratio
in roots was highest at lower Ca2+ in IR64 and
IR651.
The accumulation of Na+ in rice tissues
under salt stress seems to influence the overall
nutrient balance by changing the internal ion
concentrations in shoots. Na+ concentration in
plant tissue was negatively associated with K+
(R = –0.61**), Ca2+ (R = –0.30**), and Mg2+ (R =
–0.28**), but positively correlated with Na+/K+
ratio (R = 0.89**) under salt stress, suggesting
that the optimum balance of these essential
nutrients could be deleteriously affected with
increasing sodium uptake. Phosphorus showed
a positive correlation with Mg2+ under both
normal and salt-stress conditions. However,
Ca2+ concentration in shoots under salt stress
showed a strong positive correlation with Mg2+
(R = 0.72**), P (R = 0.38**), and K+ (R = 0.29**),
and a negative correlation with Na+. Based
on these findings, it seems that an addition
of more calcium under saline conditions is
beneficial because it helps reduce Na+ uptake
while enhancing the uptake of other essential
nutrients such as magnesium, phosphorus,
and potassium, whose uptake was negatively
affected under higher salt stress.
The synergistic effects of the use of genetic
tolerance combined with the mitigating effects
of P and Ca+ are further summarized in Figure
2, in which a lower ratio of Na+/K+ in the shoot
is taken as an indicator of lower salt injury. The
ratio is very high in IR29 but decreased with the
addition of Ca2+ as well as when both Ca2+ and
P were combined. IR64 with its intermediate
level of tolerance showed a better response to
both P and Ca2+ when applied separately, and a
Na+/K+ ratio in shoots
2.0
Cultivar (C)
1.6 C+P
C + Ca
1.2
C + P + Ca
0.8
0.4
0.0
IR29 IR64 IR651
Cultivar
Fig. 2. Na+/K+ ratio in shoots as affected by genotype and P and Ca2+
in three rice cultivars contrasting in their response to salt stress.
13
greater response when the two nutrients were
combined. IR651, on the other hand, showed
a response similar to that of IR29 but with a
strong genetic effect, particularly when the two
nutrients were added together. A genotype
effect is also obvious. Na+/K+ ratio in plant
tissue drops to <0.4 when genetic tolerance is
combined with higher Ca2+ and P. So, these
amendments seem to be effective only when
combined with intermediate or high levels of
genetic tolerance.
In summary, our studies demonstrated a few
nursery and nutrient management strategies
that can effectively enhance crop establishment
14
in salt-affected areas. However, these strategies
may be effective only if they are applied
using salt-tolerant cultivars. This is because
the incremental effects of genetic tolerance
seem to act additively to the effects of these
mitigating strategies. Combining salt tolerance
with proper nursery and nutrient management
options can therefore substantially improve
crop establishment and early growth in salt-
affected coastal areas, which can subsequently
enhance and stabilize rice productivity in
these ecosystems. Further studies are needed
to validate these strategies under farmers’ field
conditions.
Opportunities for direct seeding and improved weed control
in the Barind of Bangladesh
M.A. Mazid, C.R. Riches, A.M. Mortimer, and D.E. Johnson
In the High Barind Tract, in northwest
Bangladesh, a single crop of transplanted
rainfed rice (TPR), grown in the monsoon
aman season from June to October, provides a
major component of rural livelihoods. Aman
rice is vulnerable to late-season drought during
grain filling in October and in the rabi (winter)
season much of the land lies fallow. Cultivation
intensity in much of the Barind is considerably
less than in districts where irrigation allows
two or three rice crops to be grown each year.
Farmers’ lands are typically distributed over
a shallow sloping landscape or toposequence.
Two challenges of agricultural improvement
in such areas are to simultaneously improve
the reliability and yield of aman rice while
increasing total system productivity. Research
in recent years has demonstrated that these
objectives can be achieved through the
introduction of dry-seeded rice (DSR) and
the planting of short-duration rabi crops (e.g.,
mustard or chickpea) on residual moisture
immediately after the rice harvest. Late onset
of the monsoon or low rainfall can delay rice
transplanting as a minimum of 600 mm of
cumulative rainfall is needed to complete land
preparation and transplanting. Dry seeding,
on the other hand, can be completed after
land preparation by a power tiller after much
less rainfall and the earlier planted DSR crop
matures 1–2 weeks before TPR, thus reducing
the risk of terminal drought, and allows earlier
planting of a following nonrice crop.
TPR requires less labor and draft power
for rice establishment than DSR, but the high
costs associated with weed control in DSR are a
major constraint to its adoption. Monitoring of
farmer-managed transplanted aman rice crops
in the Barind revealed that labor availability
constrains the timeliness of first weeding for
many households and, with current practices,
34% of farmers lose more than 0.5 t ha–1 of the
attainable yield because of weed competition
(Mazid et al 2001). Farmers in the Barind have
a strong preference for the late-maturing rice
cultivar Swarna. Use of this cultivar, however,
reduces the opportunity for establishing
chickpea or other rabi crops on residual
moisture, whereas growing earlier maturing
modern cultivars may contribute to an earlier
harvest. This report summarizes selected
findings (after Mazid et al 2003) from a long-
term field experiment in the Barind designed to
explore the contribution of rice establishment
method, rice cultivar duration, and weed
control practices to aman rice performance and
the likely long-term impact on the composition
of the rice weed flora.
Methods
Rice establishment, nutrient management, and
weeding practices have been investigated on
farmland at Rajabari, Rajshahi, in northwest
Bangladesh from 2001 in an ongoing long-term
trial as described in greater detail in Mazid et
al (2001). The results for rice crops in 2000, 2001,
and 2002 are reported, comparing rice crop
establishment methods and weed management
practices. Treatments were (1) transplanted rice
(TPR)—soil is puddled prior to transplanting;
the crop is hand-weeded twice at 30 and 45
days after transplanting (DAT); (2) direct-seeded
rice (DSR)—soil is plowed prior to seeding in
rows by hand, with hand weeding at 21, 33,
and 45 days after sowing (DAS); (3) direct-seeded
rice with chemical weed control (DSRH)—as for
DSR but with oxadiazon (375 g a.i. ha–1) applied
2–4 days after seeding, followed by one hand
weeding at 33 DAS. Plots of these treatments
were sown to the cultivars Swarna (maturity
15
140–145 days) and BRRI dhan39 (maturity colona, Eclipta prostrata, Eriocaulon cinereum,
120–125 days). Rice was harvested in 5-m2 Fimbristylis dichotoma, Fimbristylis miliacea,
plots. Biomass of individual weed species was Hedyotis corymbosa, Lindernia ciliata, Ludwigia
recorded in two unweeded quadrats per plot at sp., Monochoria vaginalis, Paspalum distichum,
28 days DAS/DAT and total weed biomass at 45 and Sphaeranthus indicus. At harvest, there were
DAS/DAT and again at harvest. significantly higher densities of weeds in DSR
(228 m–2) than in TPR (75 m–2; P ≤ 0.023). As
Results expected, however, at 45 DAS/DAT, the least
Crop establishment method weed density and biomass were recorded in
With the exception of BRRI dhan39 in 2000, DSRH. The range of responses by individual
yields from direct seeding of this and cv. weed species over three consecutive seasons
Swarna were as good as or better than from to crop establishment and weed management
transplanting, the usual method of rice culture practices is shown in Figure 2. An increase in
in the district (Fig. 1). Early-season weed control abundance (biomass at 28 DAS/DAT) of the
by preemergence application of herbicide broadleaf species Alternanthera sessilis, Eclipta
resulted in the highest yields, except for BRRI prostrata, Lindernia ciliata, and Ludwigia sp. and
dhan39 in 2000. the sedges Cyperus difformis and Fimbristylis
miliacea was noticeable in DSR. Conversely, the
Grain yield (t ha –1) biomass of Monochoria vaginalis was decreased
5 by direct seeding. The most noticeable increase
A
4 in abundance was seen in the perennial grass
2000 2001 2002
Paspalum distichum.
3 A long-term trial has demonstrated that,
although rice yield can be maintained with the
2
switch from transplanting to direct seeding,
farmers will face a greater weed problem
5 early in the crop season. Not only is there an
B
4 increased burden of weeds in direct-seeded
rice but the change in establishment practice
3 also leads to a shift in the relative abundance of
important species. Previous findings indicate
2
that direct seeding was associated with higher
1 labor inputs for first weeding than is the case
SR

SR

SR
H

for transplanting. With the labor constraint, late

TP

TP

TP
SR

SR

SR
D

D
D

Establishment method first weeding, and a significant yield gap due

Fig. 1. Effect of establishment and weed control practices on the
yield (mean ±S.E.M) of rice cultivars BRRI dhan39 (A) and Swarna
(B). DSR = direct-seeded, hand-weeded; DSRH = direct-seeded +
herbicide; TPR = transplanted rice + hand-weeded.
Weed species shifts
The weed flora of rainfed rice in the Barind
is diverse and exhibits high interseasonal
variability depending on water regimes at
rice establishment and soil moisture status of
toposequence position. Weed species present
in the experiment included Alternanthera
sessilis, Ammania baccifera, Cyanotis axillaris,
Cynodon dactylon, Cyperus difformis, Cyperus iria,
Cyperus rotundus, Cyperus tenuispica, Echinochloa
16
to weeds on many farms in transplanted rice
with current weed control practices (Mazid et
al 2001), it is clear that the adoption of direct
seeding will need to be associated with the use
of chemical weed control. Studies suggest that
herbicides may find a ready market in Rajshahi
District because (1) weeding is done almost
exclusively by hired labor and (2) the supply
of hired labor is local, with very little weeding
done by seasonal migrant labor. Together, these
factors will create intense competition for labor,
especially on larger farms, which would be
intensified by the adoption of direct seeding.
 Mean dry biomass g m-2 at 28 DAS/DAT
7 9 20
Alternanthera sessilis Cyperus difformis Cyperus iria
7 15
5
5
10
3 3
5
1 1

5 50 8
Eclipta prostrata Fimbristylis miliacea Ludwigia sp.

6
3 30
4

2
1 10

9 15 200
Lindernia ciliata Monochoria vaginalis Paspalum distichum
7 150
10
5
100

3 5
50
1
SR

SR

SR
H

R
TP

TP

TP
SR

SR

SR
D

D
D

D
Establishment method

Fig. 2. Effect of establishment and weed control practices on the biomass of nine rice weeds at 28 days after
planting in unweeded plots. See text for details.

Direct seeding advanced the rice harvest
by 7 to 10 days. Earlier harvest reduces the
problem of terminal drought in rice when
rains end abruptly in October and will ensure
that postrice crops are sown while seedbeds
are moist. Farmers with the least land under
cultivation (0.6 ha for the lowest quartile of
households) on average plant 43% to postrice
crops, often on the least favorable land where
moisture is limiting (Mazid et al 2003). Our
trials suggest that this group can maximize rice
yield and achieve timely planting of a high-
value chickpea crop by direct seeding rice. On
larger farms (> 2.5 ha for the upper quartile), a
lower proportion of land is planted after rice,
using more favorable soils. Adoption of DSR by
this group could increase the area planted to
chickpea.
A single rice crop, combined with land
pressure and a high level of sharecropping
in the Barind Tract, leads farmers to place
a premium on optimizing rice yield and
household food security. This study
demonstrates that, although the widely grown
rice cultivar Swarna performs well under
direct seeding, the shorter duration BR39 is not
well adapted for this planting practice. This
is because of the high levels of sterility in this
cultivar associated with flowering during wet
periods. An earlier maturing variety with yields
to match those of Swarna could contribute
further to avoiding late-season drought during
grain filling and also allow earlier planting of
postrice crops. This challenge requires a broad-
based approach combining rice breeding with
agronomy and weed science.
17
Information availability
With a shift to direct seeding, farmers will
be increasingly dependent on information
from outside sources. Indeed, successful
adoption and correct decision making
would be likely only if farmers had a greater
availability of current knowledge. Direct
seeding and associated weed management
comprise not single recommendations but a
wide range of options that will be dependent
on toposequence, seasonal effects/rainfall
pattern, the weeds present, and farmers’
resources. Decision trees can provide farm-level
information in the form of structured questions
that enable answers “in the form of options”
to be chosen (Johnson and Mortimer 2004).
These trees specifically focus on technical
issues related to the adoption of a particular
system and they may be useful tools to help
refine technology options for researchers and
extension staff. For a farmer in the favorable
rainfed environment, such as the Barind,
the question “What are my options for rice
establishment?” might initiate a tree involving
several steps and covering the range of direct-
seeding options (see Fig. 3 for an example). In
this example, the decision process recognizes
that a primary consideration will be the ability
of a farmer to drain his field as only if this is
possible should direct seeding be recommended
because of the risk of early flooding. A second
decision level will involve the choice between
wet and dry cultivation and this will depend on
the ability to dry-cultivate and/or the presence
of perennial weeds. Further levels indicate
choices for row or broadcast seeding and
weed control options. Such a diagram allows
a structured approach to the range of options
available, and a more complex decision tree may
comprise weed control options for individual or
groups of weeds.

CAN FIELD BE DRAINED?

Yes No

TRANSPLANT
CAN FIELD BE DRY-CULTIVATED?
Is Cynodon dactylon or Cyperus rotundus ABSENT?

CROP ESTABLISHMENT Yes No

WET SEEDING
DRY SEEDING
sowing onto puddled saturated
into a seedbed
soil

ARE SOIL CONDITIONS SUITABLE FOR IS THERE A NEED FOR INTERROW CULTIVA-
LINE SEEDING BY MACHINERY? TION OR SUBSTANTIAL HAND WEEDING?

No Yes No Yes

BROADCAST DRILL-SEED BROADCAST DRUM-SEED

WEED MANAGEMENT ARE ANNUAL GRASSES ABSENT?

IS GOOD WATER MANAGEMENT POSSIBLE?

Yes No
APPLY HERBICIDE
APPLY HERBICIDE + MANUAL WEEDING OR
+ LIMITED MANUAL WEEDING INTERROW CULTIVATION

Fig. 3. Illustrative decision tree for the adoption of direct seeding with respect to favorable rainfed lowland rice.

18
 The transition to direct seeding and the
management of challenging weed problems
will require substantial information to enable
farmers to judge objectively what the best
technology options are. Gaining access to
such information may be a major obstacle
for potential adopters. The challenge for
researchers is to adequately address the
variability of the rice-farming systems for
which they are making recommendations
and to synthesize the results in ways that will
make the conclusions available to those who
will use them. Studies on direct seeding, weed
management, and decision tools are ongoing.
Acknowledgments
The research in Rajshahi was conducted by the
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Natural
Resources Institute (UK), and University of
Liverpool in association with the Consortium
for Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE),
and was partially funded under the Crop
Protection Programme by the Department for
International Development, UK.
References
Johnson DE, Mortimer AM. 2004. Issues for integrated weed
management and decision support in direct-seeded
rice. In: Rice is life: scientific perspectives for the 21st
century. Proceedings of the World Rice Research
Conference held in Tokyo and Tsuukuba, Japan, 4-7
November 2004. Los Baños (Philippines): International
Rice Research Institute, and Tsukuba (Japan): Japan
International Research Center for Agricultural Science.
CD. p 211-214.
Mazid MA, Jabber MA, Riches CR, Robinson EJZ, Mortimer
M, Wade LJ. 2001. Weed management implications
of introducing dry-seeded rice in the Barind Tract of
Bangladesh. Proceedings of the BCPC Conference
– Weeds 2001. 1:211-216.
Mazid M, Jabber MA, Mortimer M, Wade L, Riches CR,
Orr AW. 2003. Improving rice-based cropping systems
in north-west Bangladesh: diversification and weed
management. Proceedings of the BCPC International
Congress on Crop Science and Technology — 2003,
SECC, Glasgow, UK. p 1029-1034.
19
Breeding for submergence tolerance
D.J. Mackill, A.M. Ismail, S. Heuer, E. Septiningsih, A.M. Pamplona, R.M. Rodriguez,
C.N. Neeraja, D. Sanchez, K. Iftekhar, and G. Vergara
Purpose
This project aims to develop submergence-
tolerant cultivars that will improve the
livelihood and food security of farmers and
rice consumers in submergence-prone areas.
The major objective is to convert widely
grown varieties in rainfed lowland areas
into submergence-tolerant varieties through
incorporation of the Sub1 QTL on chromosome 9.
Background
Some 11 million hectares of shallow rainfed
lowland rice in South and Southeast Asia are
submergence-prone, and another 5 million
ha of medium-deep area experience stagnant
flooding of up to 50 cm. Submergence also
affects some of the areas classified as deepwater
(sustained water depths above 50 cm) on
around 4 million ha in Asia. Some estimates
indicate that submergence stress causes annual
losses of around US$1 billion in Asia (Dey and
Upadhyaya 1996, Herdt 1991). The “normalized”
yield loss (an index taking into account several
parameters) in submergence-prone areas
was estimated at about 80 kg ha–1, causing a
production loss of about 3.2 million tons per
year, with a value of about $384 million. About
140 million people are at risk from flooding
damage in Bangladesh and five states of
eastern India. With an average poverty ratio
of 45%, approximately 74 million poor people
stand to benefit significantly from improved
submergence-tolerant rice cultivars.
Modern high-yielding rice cultivars are
seriously damaged if they are completely
submerged for a few days; however, a few
tolerant landraces were identified that can
withstand inundation for up to 2 weeks.
In these tolerant landraces, the Sub1 major
20
QTL accounts for most of the variation in
the trait. DNA markers linked to the Sub1
locus have facilitated its transfer into widely
grown cultivars that are locally adapted and
possess the quality aspects preferred by local
consumers. Those tolerant Sub1 cultivars have
considerably higher survival and yield under
submergence than susceptible cultivars.
Rice production can therefore be improved
and stabilized in submergence-prone areas
of South and Southeast Asia predominantly
inhabited by resource-poor farmers. The value
of submergence tolerance could be further
enhanced by combining it with tolerance for
medium-deep stagnant flooded conditions and
tolerance for submergence during germination.
Yield of these tolerant cultivars can be further
increased and stabilized through proper
management strategies.
Previous studies on submergence tolerance
The effects of flooding on rice as well as the
physiological bases of tolerance were recently
reviewed (Ram et al 2002, Jackson and Ram
2003). Plant survival in flooded areas depends
on various aspects of floodwater environments,
particularly the limitation of gas diffusion,
irradiance level, and water temperature. Among
the important plant traits associated with
tolerance are high nonstructural carbohydrate
content before submergence, slower
underwater shoot extension, optimum alcoholic
fermentation when O2 is low, an efficient
protective system upon air entry after exposure
to low O2, and limited leaf chlorosis (Setter et
al 1997, Ram et al 2002, Jackson and Ram 2003,
Ella et al 2003). Carbohydrates remaining after
submergence are necessary for recovery growth
and are correlated better with survival than
carbohydrate level before submergence (Das et
al 2005). A rapid regeneration growth following
submergence is essential under frequent or
prolonged flooding as this can ensure early
recovery and the production of sufficient
biomass for high yield. Rice plants that exhibit
only limited elongation during submergence are
more tolerant of complete flooding and a strong
association between limited underwater shoot
growth and survival is commonly observed
(Jackson and Ram 2003, Das et al 2005).
Evidence is also accumulating for the role
of postsubmergence events in tolerance for
submergence. Tolerant cultivars acquired a
more efficient protective system to suppress
the level of active oxygen species and to lower
the extent of lipid peroxidation upon exposure
to air (Kawano et al 2002). Ethylene, a plant
hormone, accumulates in plant tissue during
submergence because of both enhanced
synthesis and entrapment, and this promotes
underwater leaf senescence. This effect is
suppressed in tolerant cultivar FR13A. Ella et al
(2003) found that blocking ethylene enhanced
chlorophyll retention and carbohydrate content
in the plant tissue and improved survival of
intolerant cultivar IR42.
Early flooding can cause poor crop
establishment in direct-seeded rice areas.
Landraces tolerant of these conditions emerge
faster from the soil during flooding, produce
taller seedlings with more leaves, and attain
greater leaf area than intolerant lines. These
cultivars also maintain higher activity of
enzymes involved in the breakdown of starches,
for example, total amylases, under flooding and
this correlated positively with survival. Other
studies showed increased activity of some of the
enzymes involved in the fermentative pathways
during anaerobic conditions (Xie and Wu
1989, Hossin et al 1996). Phosphofructokinase
(Fukao et al 2003) and pyruvate orthophosphate
dikinase (Huang et al 2005) were found to
be induced under low-oxygen stress, both of
which could enable substrate cycle operation of
adenosine tri-phosphates (ATPs) necessary for
energy production during germination.
Breeding improved submergence-tolerant
cultivars has been ongoing for more than
three decades (Mackill 1986, Mohanty and
Chaudhary 1986, Singh and Dwivedi 1996).
The initial work focused on transferring the
trait from traditional landraces into semidwarf
breeding lines. However, these lines were
low-yielding and had many undesirable
traits. Additional crosses resulted in the
development of tolerant breeding lines with
improved agronomic characteristics (Mackill
et al 1993, Mackill and Xu 1996, Mohanty et
al 2000). Although the lines with the highest
levels of tolerance had some yield penalty,
some breeding lines, such as IR49830-7, had
a yield equivalent to that of the irrigated
checks. These improved lines have been used
for further crosses. New breeding lines with
submergence tolerance were developed through
the Eastern Indian Rainfed Lowland Shuttle
Breeding Network (Singh et al 1998, Mallik et
al 2002). Some of these lines have been released
or recommended for release in India, such
as Kishori, Satyam, OR1234-12-1, CN 1035-61
(Bhudev), CRLC 899 (Varshadhan), TTB 238-3-
38-3 (Prafulla), NDR 8002, CR 2003-2, CR 2003-
3, CR 978-8-2, and IR54112-B2-1-6-2-2-2-CR2-1.
These lines together with Sub1 introgression
lines would serve as a basis for studies on crop
management and farmer participatory research.
Genetically, submergence tolerance is largely
governed by a single major QTL, designated
Sub1, located on rice chromosome 9 (Xu and
Mackill 1996). Almost all strongly tolerant
cultivars possess the Sub1 QTL (Setter et al
1997); however, additional QTLs of smaller
effect appear to give increasing amounts of
tolerance (Nandi et al 1997). Through positional
cloning, a cluster of three putative ethylene
response factor (ERF) genes has been identified
in the Sub1 locus. ERFs are transcription factors
unique to plants, in which they constitute a
large multigene family related to Apetala2
(AP2) and dehydration-responsive element
binding (DREB) factors (McGrath et al 2005).
ERF genes are induced in response to several
biotic and abiotic stresses, and by ethylene and
other plant hormones, and might be involved
in cross-talk between the different pathways
(for review, see Gutterson and Reuber 2004).
In addition, it was shown in rice and tomato
21
that phosphorylation of the proteins enhances
DNA binding affinity (Cheong et al 2003, Gu
et al 2000) and that ERFs act as transcriptional
activators and repressors, respectively (Fujimoto
et al 2000, Ohta et al 2001).
An allelic survey of the Sub1 ERF genes in
a range of tolerant and intolerant germplasm
revealed tolerant-specific alleles for Sub1A
(Sub1A-1) and Sub1C (Sub1C-1). The tolerant
and intolerant alleles (Sub1A-2; Sub1C-2
to 8) show differences in several putative
phosphorylation sites and are differentially
expressed during submergence. Whereas
Sub1A-1 is highly expressed in tolerant lines
and expressed at a very low level in intolerant
accessions, Sub1C shows the opposite expression
pattern. Overexpression of Sub1A-1 in an
intolerant variety conferred submergence
tolerance, suggesting that Sub1A-1 is the major
determinant of tolerance (Xu et al 2006).
The sequence information of these three
genes facilitated the development of ideal
markers suitable for backcrossing this locus
into widely grown varieties. The use of marker-
assisted backcrossing has been shown to be
effective in transferring Sub1 into a widely
grown Thai cultivar (Siangliw et al 2003).
In a previous project, the Sub1 genes were
introduced into widely grown varieties in
the rainfed areas of Asia. The sequences are
also being used to screen new landraces for
the presence of this gene. Preliminary data
indicate that some tolerant varieties such as
FARO 27 do not have the typical Sub1 gene
and might possess a different mechanism
of tolerance. Preliminary evaluation of Sub1
introgression lines showed that Sub1 can be
effective in conferring tolerance for 10–14 days,
depending on floodwater conditions. However,
submergence sometimes occurs for a longer
duration or more than once. Identification of
new sources of tolerance and genes additive to
Sub1 will therefore be highly desirable.
Recent studies at IRRI
The physiological basis of tolerance for flash
flooding is now reasonably well understood.
Two main factors were identified as being
22
important in contributing to injury when rice
is completely inundated: limited gas exchange
and reduced illumination. The consequences of
these are reduced underwater photosynthesis,
accelerated stem and leaf extension, and
enhanced chlorosis and leaf senescence,
resulting in a shortage in energy supply for
maintenance of metabolism. The mechanisms
by which tolerant cultivars depress the
damaging effects of submergence are becoming
more evident. Identification of the traits
associated with submergence tolerance will
help in designing efficient evaluation methods
to pyramid component traits and in gene
discovery. In addition, suitable management
strategies could be efficiently designed and
tuned toward exploiting the potential of the
traits that are important for survival and
recovery.
Initial work at IRRI indicated that
submergence tolerance in the most tolerant
cultivars is mainly controlled by Sub1 and that
the most tolerant cultivars such as FR13A, Goda
Heenati, and Kurkaruppan all possess this
locus (Xu and Mackill 1996, Setter et al 1997, Xu
et al 2006). However, data suggest that other
genes are needed to gain higher submergence
tolerance. We have identified a tolerant-specific
allele of the Sub1C gene and have shown
differential expression of this gene in tolerant
and intolerant accessions upon submergence.
It is currently unclear whether the relative
abundance of Sub1A and Sub1C gene products
is important for tolerance or whether Sub1
modulating factors are absent from intolerant
varieties. Such factors might be present in
additional minor QTLs controlling submergence
tolerance (Nandi et al 1997, Kamolsukyunyong
et al 2001) and could explain why some tolerant
breeding lines do not have as high a tolerance
as FR13A.
Crosses were made with these lines for
further genetic and mechanistic analysis.
Breeders have been using the sources of
submergence tolerance such as FR13A and
Kurkaruppan to develop highly tolerant
cultivars with a high-yielding plant type.
The initial semidwarf breeding lines with
submergence tolerance similar to that of FR13A
were developed in the late 1970s (described
in Mackill and Xu 1996). Breeding lines with
submergence tolerance from FR13A and high
yield potential were developed in the late 1980s
(Mackill et al 1993). More recently, breeding
lines developed from these sources have shown
promise in eastern India and a few of them
were released as new varieties.
Summary of recent achievements
• Development of Swarna with submergence
tolerance: A submergence-tolerant version
of Swarna was produced in 2 years by
marker-assisted backcrossing (MAB):
only the small fragment carrying the QTL
Sub1 was introduced. A large number
of BC1F1 seeds were produced. Based on
five informative markers from the Sub1
region, 54% of the plants were detected to
be Sub1+, out of which 3% (21 plants) had
desired recombination for the Sub1 region.
Background selection was performed
for the 12 chromosomes with 58 markers
(approx. 5 markers per chromosome). From
the progeny of 320 plants from the second
backcross, four plants were selected based
on foreground and background selection.
Out of 937 BC2F2 progeny from the selected
plants, one plant was selected for its
maximum recipient genome and its target
locus.
• Providing NARES partners with
multiplied seeds of Swarna-Sub1: The
seeds of Swarna-Sub1 have been multiplied
and used by CRRI, BRRI, and NDUAT for
phenotypic evaluation. In preliminary
yield trials at Rangpur, Bangladesh, and
Cuttack, India, Swarna-Sub1 was evaluated
against other elite breeding lines and
checks. Swarna-Sub1 showed higher survival
(25% for Swarna vs. 100% for Swarna-
Sub1), a lower level of elongation under
submergence, and earlier maturity and it
did not lodge after 10 days of submergence.
Data on yield and other attributes are being
analyzed. Swarna-Sub1 was evaluated for
adaptation to local conditions by growing it
in normal farmers’ fields at Cuttack, Orrissa,
India, and Rangpur, Bangladesh. In India,
both Swarna and Swarna-Sub1 produced
similar yields in farmers’ fields (approx.
5.5 t ha–1), whereas, at Rangpur, Swarna-
Sub1 slightly outyielded Swarna (3.9 t ha–1)
and the local check Red Swarna (3.5 t ha–1).
Swarna-Sub1 also had good plant height
and panicle number. Seeds of Swarna-Sub1
were multiplied at two sites in both India
and Bangladesh to produce sufficient seeds
for large-scale testing in multiple farmers’
fields in 2007 through participatory varietal
selection trials.
• Identification of diagnostic markers for
precise MAB of Sub1: Previously, two
cleaved amplified polymorphic markers
(CAPs) were designed targeting a silent
single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
located in the Sub1A gene and a unique
phosphorylation site in the Sub1C gene. To
more precisely measure the introgression
region of the Sub1 locus and to obtain
markers specific for functional genes
underlying the QTL, additional allele-
specific markers were developed. A second
SNP where the IR40931 allele causes an
amino acid change in the Sub1A protein
(CCG in Teqing encoding for proline and
TCG in IR40931-33 encoding for serine)
was targeted for marker design. Since no
restriction enzyme sites were located at the
SNP locus that could be used to develop
a CAP marker, a dominant STS marker
was developed by designing a PCR primer
with the SNP at the 3′ end. In addition,
several CAPs and indel (insertion/deletion)
markers were also designed in the promoter
region of Sub1A and Sub1C. Several of these
gene-based markers have been used in our
MAB program, and have been found very
useful as alternative foreground markers.
The Sub1A marker has already been used
in CRRI, India, to confirm the presence of
the gene in some of their landraces and
improved varieties.
23
• Identification of additional microsatellite
markers for foreground/recombinant
selection of the Sub1 locus: Additional
highly polymorphic SSR primers from the
International Rice Genome Sequencing
Project (IRGSP) were identified in the region
of Sub1. Two of them were tightly linked
and located upstream of the Sub1 locus,
that is, RM23865 (6.2 Mb) and RM23869
(6.3 Mb). These two SSR markers have
been very useful in minimizing the size
of introgression of the Sub1 locus since
previously there were no tightly linked
polymorphic SSR markers located upstream
of the Sub1 locus.
• Development of Samba Mahsuri and IR64
with submergence tolerance: Previously,
it was reported that Samba Mahsuri-Sub1
and IR64-Sub1 were produced within two
rounds of backcrossing and one generation
of self-pollination by MAB. Only the small
fragment around the tip of chromosome
9, where the QTL Sub1 is located, was
introduced into Samba Mahsuri, a popular
variety from India, and IR64. In addition,
another version of Samba Mahsuri-Sub1
with a smaller introgression of the Sub1
region was selected among 48 BC3F2
progenies derived from a double-side
crossover type of BC3F1 plant. A similar
process was conducted for IR64. Seven
hundred BC3F2 plants derived from three
selected BC3F1 plants have been genotyped;
however, no double-side crossover has been
found. Nevertheless, several promising
recombinants having a smaller region of
Sub1 have been identified. We will genotype
the BC3F3 progenies of these recombinants to
identify the best plants having the smallest
introgression region of the Sub1 locus. This
plant can then be multiplied and used as an
alternative seed source of IR64-Sub1. Both
versions of Samba Mahsuri-Sub1 (BC2F2
and BC3F2) and IR64-Sub1 (BC2F2 and BC2F3)
have been used for seed multiplication.
A preliminary submergence field test has
shown that Samba Mahsuri-Sub1 and IR64-
Sub1 were comparable with the tolerant check.
24
• Development of TDK1 with submergence
tolerance: Because of the small size of
this population from the earlier backcross
and several markers that were biased
toward the tolerant parent, there were no
optimal plants to be selected out of the
BC2F2 population. However, several BC3F1
with very small Sub1 introgression regions
having no or one background introgression
have been identified. In addition, plenty of
BC3F2-derived BC3F1 seeds are available to
maximize the probability of finding the best
version of TDK1-Sub1. These BC3F2 plants
have been planted and will soon be ready
for genotyping.
• Development of BR11 with submergence
tolerance: A special case study was done
for BR11. Four selection strategies associated
with a marker-assisted backcross breeding
program were compared for validating
suitable selection strategies for an efficient
and effective MAB breeding program. The
four treatments related to the development
of BR11-Sub1 were as follows:
a. Foreground, recombinant, and
background selection
b. Foreground and phenotypic selection
c. Foreground, phenotypic, and
background selection
d. Foreground, recombinant, and
phenotypic selection
As many as 1,430 BC1F1 plants were grown
from 44 F1 plants, and the best BC2F1 progenies
had been selected. Selection activities are
ongoing in the BC2F2 generation for treatment
“b” and in the BC3F1 generation for treatment
“c.” However, we could not advance the
selection processes a further generation for
treatment “d” because of the unavailability of
double-recombinant-type plants segregating
in the BC2F1 generation. Preliminary results
showed that phenotypic selection cannot be
used as an alternative for a marker-based
background in the MAB scheme.
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Participatory varietal selection of salinity-tolerant rice for the
coastal wetlands of Bangladesh
M.A. Salam, G.B. Gregorio, D.L. Adorada, and R.D. Mendoza

Soil salinity is one of the major constraints to baby trials in 2002 and evaluation in farm-walk
rice production on about 1 million ha of the farmers’ fields at three villages in 2003.
coastal areas of Bangladesh. To reduce salinity, A mother trial of the upland ecosystem was
major engineering infrastructure and expensive carried out at the Sonagazi BRRI farm in 2002
soil amendments are needed. However, these and at Upakul Villa (Char-Lawrence, Laxmipur)
amendments require large investments to tailor in 2003.
rice plants to adapt to salt stress. In the past, it Similarly, a mother trial of the boro season
was difficult to release high-yielding varieties was carried out at Benerpota (Satkhira) and
in the coastal areas because no single rice Gobindopur (Kaliganj) sites in 2000-01 and also
variety could be adapted to the varied soil and at Benerpota in 2001-02, followed by baby trials
climatic conditions of those areas. The urgent in 2001-02 and 2002-03 crop seasons. Farm-
need for the development of saline-tolerant walks of farmers were organized for baby trials
varieties in the coastal areas of Bangladesh was at seven villages in this season.
therefore prioritized as a researchable issue in a Nonreplicated mother trials and researcher-
stakeholder analysis. managed on-farm experiments were done in
The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute cooperation with the participating farmers. PVS
(BRRI) and International Rice Research Institute was launched at crop maturity. The Department
(IRRI) developed advanced lines that can of Agriculture and Extension (DAE) and five
tolerate salt stress of 8–10 dS m–1 and with NGOs (Gurpukur, Uttaran, Sushilan, Proshika,
a large range of plant characters. All these and BRAC) organized 25–40 RPFs, including 0–
genotypes were grown on the saline-prone 15 women for the mother trials, across the sites
farms of BRRI research stations at Sonagazi and and crop seasons. A briefing was given on the
Satkhira. Three sets composed of 72 lines for importance of involving farmers in the progress
the wet season (T. aman), 76 for the irrigated of variety development through PVS. The
(boro) season, and 86 for uplands were selected participating farmers were divided into three
for evaluation in “mother and baby” trials of to four groups (8–10 farmers per group), and
participatory varietal selection (PVS). PVS trials a researcher led each group. All farmers were
were conducted at five sites in the saline-prone given a simple PVS evaluation sheet asking
coastal districts. them to choose one or two genotypes to grow
Table 1 shows the soil salinity status of the
mother trial plots across the three crop seasons.
Table 1. Soil salinity of mother trial plots at five sites across rice
All the trial plots had initial soil salinity crop seasons.
above the critical level (>4.0 dS m–1) except for Site Plot location Soil EC in crop seasons
Noakhali in the T. aman season. The mean T. aman Boro Upland
salinity level was highest in boro, followed by Sonagazi Sonapur 5.9 – 6.2
upland and T. aman plots. Laxmipur Char-Lawrence 8.3 – 10.0
The mother trial for T. aman was conducted Noakhali Char-Jabbar 3.6 – –
at four sites, Char-Sonapur (Sonagazi), Char- Satkhira Benerpota 6.9 6.9 –
Lawrence (Laxmipur), Char-Jabbar (Noakhali), Kaligonj Gobindopur – 10.5 –
and Benerpota (Satkhira), in 2001, followed by Mean 6.2 8.7 8.1

27
as baby trials on their land under their own
management. After a field visit, PVS sheets were
collected and two or three farmers from each
group were called immediately on a random
basis to express their views and opinions on the
selection made.
All the PVS farmers were supplied with 500
g of seed of the chosen genotypes to be grown
in their fields as baby trials. On the other hand,
the farm-walk farmers selected seeds from
baby-trial farmers’ fields. Baby trials and the
farm-walk farmers’ plots were monitored using
a household-level questionnaire (HLQ).
Varieties selected through PVS
PVS is the selection of fixed lines done by
farmers in a target environment using their
own selection criteria. In PVS, access to and
selection of breeding lines are decentralized,
with farmers’ participation. Plant materials,
which have all the combinations of
characteristics, are selected by the farmers for
the appropriate plant type and yielding ability
on their respective salt-stressed farms instead of
researchers themselves selecting for the farmers
in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. In three
years, 245 salt-tolerant genotypes from IRRI and
BRRI were placed in PVS mother trials at five
coastal sites of Bangladesh.
PVS in T. aman season
In 2001, 87 farmers took part in PVS at four mother-
trial sites. The farmers selected 10 of the 72 lines
and these genotypes were designated as PVS-T1 to
PVS-T10 representing T. aman (Table 2). Variation
was great in the choice of PVS-T genotypes by the
farmers across locations. The advanced lines had
site-specific preference. BRRI dhan40 (PVS-T9)
and BRRI dhan41 (PVS-T10) were chosen by a
majority of the farmers, followed by PVS-T7 at all
the sites. The farmers’ preferences for choosing the
genotypes were the following: lodging tolerance,
high yield, freeness from disease, uniformity in
maturity, and short growth duration. The choice of
varieties by farmers also depended on the location.
This confirms the location specificity of varieties for
complex environments such as coastal areas.
There is considerable variation in yield and
other agronomic characteristics of the 10 PVS-T
genotypes (Table 3). Most of the farmers’ preferred
varieties had growth duration of 140 ± 5 days
except for PVS-T4, with early growth duration,
and they were chosen at Sonagazi and Satkhira
for highlands and crop diversification. The PVS-T
farmers grew their selected genotypes as baby trials
in 2002, under their own management practices.
Data from HLQs showed that 50% of the farmers
were discouraged by the results because of water
stagnation in the field, which ranged from 30 to 50
cm from transplanting to maximum tillering stage.
The farm walks for baby trials in which 96 farmers
partipated were conducted at three villages where
there was no high water stagnation. Five PVS-T
genotypes showed promising results and were
selected by farmers (Table 4). Two sister lines (PVS-
T5 and PVS-T7) were selected at Sonapur, whereas
two sister lines (PVS-T1 and PVS-T2) and PVS-T4
were chosen at Satkhira and Kaliganj.

Table 2. Selected genotypes from mother trials and the number of PVS farmers
across locations, T. aman, 2001-02.
Entry Designation Number of farmers
Sonagazi Noakhali Laxmipur Satkhira Total
PVS-T1 BR5778-156-1-3-HR1 5 2 – 16 23
PVS-T2 BR5778-156-1-3-HR14 15 8 – 28 51
PVS-T3 BR5778-156-1-3-HR15 16 4 – 16 36
PVS-T4 IR66401-2B-14-1-1 3 – 1 9 13
PVS-T5 BR5999-82-3-2-HR1 18 3 14 3 38
PVS-T6 BR5999-82-3-2-HR10 10 3 13 5 31
PVS-T7 BR5999-82-3-2-HR16 6 13 28 8 55
PVS-T8 BR5333-34-4-6 14 – – – 14
PVS-T9 BRRI dhan40 16 19 19 9 63
PVS-T10 BRRI dhan41 28 18 28 12 86

28
 Table 3. Agronomic performance of PVS genotypes in mother trials across locations,
T. aman, 2001-02.
Entry Plant height Yield (t ha–1) Duration
(cm) Sonagazi Noakhali Laxmipur Satkhira Mean (days)

PVS-T1 126 1.4 5.9 2.1 3.8 3.3 135

PVS-T2 120 1.2 4.7 2.1 3.7 3.0 135
PVS-T3 124 1.2 5.4 2.3 4.3 3.3 136
PVS-T4 106 2.0 2.9 1.5 3.0 2.3 126
PVS-T5 130 3.6 6.4 5.2 4.7 5.0 135
PVS-T6 130 3.5 5.4 4.5 4.7 4.5 136
PVS-T7 130 2.2 4.4 3.8 3.8 3.5 135
PVS-T8 112 2.9 5.4 4.1 – 4.1 146
PVS-T9 136 1.7 4.9 4.5 3.8 3.7 138
PVS-T10 138 2.8 4.4 4.2 3.7 3.7 144

Table 4. Performance of PVS-T genotypes in baby trials and

1. Dry direct seeding using the dibbling
number of farm-walk farmers that selected each genotype, T. method,
aman, 2002-03. 2. A drought spell plus salinity (6–8 dS m–1)
Genotype Plant Growth Number of Yield (t ha–1)
stress from seedling to tillering stage,
height duration preferring L1a L2 L3 X
(cm) (days) farmers 3. Water stagnation of 20–50 cm at tillering
PVS-T1 132 126 27 4.5 5.0 – 4.8 through maturity stage depending on
PVS-T2 133 126 28 5.0 5.1 – 5.1 elevation, and
PVS-T4 91 112 34 4.5 3.4 – 4.0 4. Harvesting of the upland rice crop at or
PVS-T5 140 141 29 – – 5.0 5.0 before mid-August for the transplanting of
PVS-T7 139 140 17 – – 5.0 5.0 the main rice crop (T. aman).
a
L1 = Parkumira, Tala; L2 = Gobindapur, Kaliganj; L3 = Sonapur, Feni. Considering the above-mentioned
diversified and difficult conditions, a mother
trial was conducted at the Sonagazi station.
All the farm-walk farmers grew their Crop establishment was done using dry
individual selection under their own management direct seeding with the dibbling method. The
practices in T. aman 2003. PVS-T4 showed high- crop received drought after seeding and also
temperature sensitivity at the reproductive phase stagnation of water at 20–30 cm at maximum
and consequently heterogeneity of heading and tillering up to maturity.
sterile panicles were observed. PVS-T4 is a short- PVS activity was conducted in collaboration
duration genotype; thus, its flowering coincided with with DAE and two NGOs (Proshika and BRAC)
the high-temperature spell (>35 °C) during early to of Sonagazi at crop maturity in August 2002.
mid-October. On the other hand, PVS-T1, PVS-T2, Twenty-nine farmers, including two women,
PVS-T5, and PVS-T7 were relatively tall in stature joined the PVS activity and 12 salt-tolerant
and prone to lodging at wind speed of 30–50 km genotypes with good yielding ability were
h–1, a usual phenomenon in the coastal areas in early selected. The performance of the farmers’
November. Thus, PVS in T. aman was terminated in selected varieties demonstrated higher yield
the subsequent season. than BRRI dhan27 and varieties with shorter
plant height. Farmers finally selected four
PVS in saline-prone upland culture PVS-A genotypes out of the 85 short-duration
In 2002, a mother trial for 85 short-duration genotypes introduced. Seeds of the selected
(120–130 d) IR genotypes was conducted at a PVS-A genotypes were distributed to farmers
BRRI farm in Sonagazi. The prevailing crop for adaptability tests in their own fields in aus
growing conditions in upland culture in coastal 2004.
wetlands are the following:

29
 A mother trial composed of 22 genotypes, Table 5. Performance of selected genotypes in mother trials and
including 12 PVS-A, was conducted at Upakul number of farmers who chose PVS genotypes at Char Alexgen-
der, Laxmipur, upland rice, 2002-03.
Villa under Char Alexgender of Laxmipur in
Entry Designation Plant Growth Yield No. of
2003. Proshika, BRAC, and DAE organized 31 height duration (t ha–1) farmers
farmers, including five women, to join the PVS (cm) (days)
activity. The male farmers visited the trial and PVS-A2 IR72046-B-R-6-3-1 85 117 3.0 7

selected four PVS-A genotypes (Table 5). Seeds PVS-A6 IR63307-4B-4-3 103 120 3.1 11

(500 g) of the PVS genotypes were supplied to PVS-A9 IR64419-3B-4-3 91 104 2.7 16

the PVS farmers’ baby trials to be conducted on PVS-A10 BRRI dhan27 123 100 2.2 10

their own farms for the 2004 crop season.

PVS in boro season Table 6. Performance of genotypes selected from mother trials
Researcher-managed on-farm mother trials and number of participating farmers at Benerpota, Satkhira, boro
season, 2001-02.
composed of 76 salt-tolerant (8–10 dS
PVS no. Designation Number Plant Yield
m–1) genotypes were conducted at Satkhira and of farmers height (t ha–1)
Kaligonj sites in 2000-01. Thirty-seven farmers (cm)

took part in the PVS activity at crop maturity in PVS-B2 BR5778-156-1-3-HR1 4 99 6.7

cooperation with the Department of Agricultural PVS-B3 IR63307-4B-4-3 7 121 6.1

PVS-B4 IR64419-3B-4-3 2 94 5.6
Extension (DAE) and three NGOs, Gurpukur,
PVS-B5 IR65192-4B-14-1 3 78 6.3
Uttaran, and Sushilan. Government officials, block
PVS-B6 AT309-1-GAZ 5 90 4.9
supervisors of DAE, field-level workers of the
PVS-B7 IR10206-29-2-1 3 93 6.7
NGOs, and local leaders (union council members
PVS-B8 BR5777-11-2-4-1-HR2 32 93 6.7
and the chairman) participated. The 24 genotypes
PVS-B9 IR63275-B-1-1-3-3-2 7 104 5.7
selected by participating farmers were designated as
PVS-B12 IR72046-B-R-1-3-1 5 97 7.0
PVS-B1 to PVS-B24, representing the boro season.
PVS-B13 IR72046-B-R-6-2-2 5 93 6.4
Since handling such a large number of genotypes
PVS-B19 IR66401-2B-14-1-1 27 96 6.2
was difficult, we distributed seeds of PVS-B1 to PVS-B20 IR60483-2B-17-2-1-2 10 96 6.3
PVS-B8 and decided to conduct another PVS with
the remaining PVS-B genotypes in the 2001-02 crop
seasons.
In 2001-02, at Benerpota, 42 farmers, growth duration, the crops were damaged by
including 15 women from Kaliganj, Tala, and high soil and water salinity at the later growth
Satkhira, participated in the PVS activity. The phases, which are the reproductive stage.
PVS farmers selected 12 genotypes as shown in The PVS farmers were supplied with 500
Table 6. g of seeds of their selected PVS-B genotypes
The performance of the PVS-B genotypes for growing as baby trials under their own
was highly accepted by farmers, especially for management in the 2002-03 boro crop season.
yielding ability and shorter growth duration. Farm walks were conducted at seven villages
The farmers’ criteria for the selection of PVS and 211 farmer participants identified five
genotypes were short growth duration and genotypes for diffusion for placement in the
yield-contributing characters (high number of variety release system (Table 7).
panicles per plant, high number of grains per Ten PVS farmers were involved in growing
panicle, and low sterility percentage). the five PVS-boro genotypes together with a
The fields with initial soil salinity of 8–10 check variety to obtain comparative data to
dS m–1 had 2–3 dS m–1 at transplanting. Salnity serve as the basis for nomination for varietal
gradually increased and exceeded the critical release in the coastal wetlands of Bangladesh.
level (4.0 dS m–1) from late April. Thus, farmers Seed samples of these five PVS-B genotypes
preferred short-duration genotypes for saline were submitted to the Seed Certification Agency
conditions because they noted that, with longer for completing a District, Uniformity, and
30
 Table 7. Performance of PVS-B genotypes in baby trials and the number of farm-walk farmers who selected
each genotype, boro season, 2002-03.
Genotype Plant Growth Number of Yield (t ha–1)
height duration farmers L1 a
L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 X
(cm) (days)

PVS-B3 96 149 25 – – – – – 6.0 – 6.00

PVS-B8 91 153 36 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.0 – – – 6.05
PVS-B9 97 154 57 6.2 6.4 – 6.5 – – 6.4 6.38
PVS-B13 93 145 27 – – – – 6.0 – – 6.00
PVS-B19 99 152 108 6.5 6.1 6.8 6.8 – – – 6.48
a
L1 = Satkhira Sadar, L2 = Ashashuni, L3 = Kaliganj, L4 = Sakdah, L5 = Uttaran, L6 = Benerpota, L7 = Kashipur.

Stability (DUSt) evaluation as a requirement for
national varietal release.
With PVS in resource-poor farmers’ fields
and involvement of relevant NGOs, local
government, and extension scientists, varieties
were evaluated, selected, and distributed to
farmers in the coastal wetlands of Bangladesh.
Five genotypes each for T. aman and boro
seasons identified by farmers through PVS
showed good potential for diffusion, and are
now included in the national varietal release
system of Bangladesh. After six seasons of PVS,
at least 500 resource-poor farmers are now
using farmers’ selected varieties for the boro
season. NGOs such as Gorpukor at Sathkira are
conducting their own PVS in a techno-demo
using the five PVS-B materials in three villages
involving 53 farmers.

31
Increasing profits from rice production in Bangladesh: direct
wet seeding of rice using a plastic drum seeder
M. Zainul Abedin
In Bangladesh, there is a need to increase
income from rice production for a sustainable
livelihood of rice farmers, particularly for
those who derive their main income from rice
production.
Transplanting is an age-old practice
alongside direct seeding. The introduction of
high-yielding varieties (HYVs) under irrigation
has increased the area under transplanted
rice, which requires lots of labor. Because of
economic development in other sectors, there
is a labor shortage in agriculture, which often
delays transplanting, thus causing a reduction
in yield.
Consequently, the cost of labor is increasing.
The cost of other inputs is also increasing,
but the rice price is not increasing at the same
rate, thus reducing the net benefits from rice
production.
Direct seeding was found to reduce
costs, increase net benefits, and offer other
advantages.
The use of a plastic drum seeder was found
to be more acceptable than broadcasting. The
drum seeder was originally developed by IRRI
but has been improved by researchers and
entrepreneurs in Vietnam. Farmers in Vietnam
use a drum seeder on a large scale, basically to
reduce seed rates.
The plastic 12–16-row drum seeder has the
following characteristics:
• Light weight, 6 to 7 kg, and requires low farm research
power to pull.
• Very cheap at US$25 (investment cost per ha Goal for dry season, 2004-05: Reach about
is about $0.60).
• With 6 drums, each pass can cover 12 rows,
with 2.4 m width; can accommodate 8 The growth vigor of boro rice plants was
drums to cover 3.2 m width.
• Each drum can hold about 2 kg of seeds.
• Options exists for variable seed rates.
32
• One person can seed about 1 ha in a day at
about 2 km per hour.
To use pregerminated seeds, soak them for
12–24 hours, incubate them for 48–72 hours,
and air-dry the pregerminated seeds just before
seeding.
For land preparation, use dry tillage, puddle
and level the land, and drain out excess water.
Water management is critical during the first
week. Do not irrigate during the first 3–4 days,
just to keep soil moist. Start irrigating after
about 3–4 days to keep the soil moist. After
about 10 days, increase the depth of water as the
seedlings grow. Subsequently, follow normal
water management as in transplanted rice.
The following trials were conducted in
Bangladesh:
Wet season (aman), 2003: At BRRI HQ
and with 5
farmers
Dry season (boro), 2003-04: At 7 BRRI
stations
At 1
BSMRAU,
Gazipur
At 56 on-farm
locations
Wet season, 2004: At 4 BRRI
stations
At > 80 on-
locations
10,000 farmers
affected by establishment method (Table 1).
The number of tillers at harvest in boro rice
was influenced by stand establishment method
(Table 2). Direct-wet-seeded boro rice was Early harvest of rice in Bangladesh may have
established using a plastic drum seeder in the following advantages:
2004 (Table 3). Variety BRRI dhan29 was also • May save the T. aman crop from drought
established using a plastic drum seeder in 2004 and the boro crop from early flood.
(Table 4). Yield of boro rice was affected by • May help early establishment of winter
method of stand establishment (Fig. 1). crops after T. aman.
Direct-wet-seeded T. aman rice was • May allow growing of another short-
evaluated in 2003 using a drum seeder duration crop in the cropping pattern.
(Table 5). Direct-wet-seeded boro rice was also • May help early establishment of deepwater
evaluated with a drum seeder in 2004 (Table 6). rice after boro rice.
The effect of date of seeding on rice yield was
evaluated in 2004 (Fig. 2). Farmers made several observations
regarding the early harvest:
Table 1. Growth vigor of boro (dry-season) rice plants as affected • Better and sturdier plant growth leads to
by method of establishment, Gazipur, Bangladesh, 2004.
- Reduced insect infestation
Treatment Seedling dry Dry weight Dry weight
weight at time of at 40 DAT at harvest
- Need for less pesticide application
transplanting (g plant–1) (g plant–1) • Lodging in some locations—was it due to
(mg seedling–1) variety BRRI dhan28?
Direct wet-seeded rice 120.4 270.8 1,082.5 • Ability to escape flood and/or tolerate
Transplanted rice 75.3 68.7 898.5 flooding

Direct-wet-seeded rice was evaluated

economically in 2003 (Table 7). Direct wet
Table 2. Number of tillers at harvest in boro rice as influenced seeding can have several constraints. Weeds
by stand establishment method, Bangladesh, 2004.
can be controlled by mechanical weeding,
Method No. of tillers m–2
Effective Ineffective Total
water management, and manual weeding. Two
Direct dry-seeded rice 389 289 678
weedings are usually enough. Herbicides are
Transplanted rice 213 68 281 the least preferred control option.

Table 3. Performance of direct-wet-seeded boro rice (BR4828-54-4-1-4-9) established with a plastic drum
seeder, Barisal, 2004.
Treatment Root length Tillers m–2 Panicles m–2 Grains panicle–1 Sterility Straw yield Grain yield
(cm) (no.) (%) (t ha–1) (t ha–1)
Direct drum 23.3 865 498 72.2 25.6 8.69 7.04
seeding in single
thin row
Direct drum 25.2 929 479 71.8 30.0 10.06 6.46
seeding in single
thick row
Direct drum 23.2 962 464 67.2 24.9 8.71 6.77
seeding in both
thin and thick
row
Direct hand 22.7 959 474 64.9 23.5 9.41 6.99
seeding
Transplanting 21.0 425 275 71.7 32.0 6.25 5.57
Level of ns *** ** ns ns ** ***
significance
% CV 7.45 12.1 9.9 8.53 12.61 9.44 3.24
± SE 0.9931 57.4003 25.0474 3.4246 1.9806 0.4703 0.1228

33
 Table 4. Performance of direct-wet-seeded boro rice established with a plastic drum seeder,
Barisal, 2004.
Treatment Root length Tillers Panicles Grains Sterility Straw yield Grain yield
(cm) m–2 m–2 panicle–1 (%) (t ha–1) (t ha–1)
(no.)

Direct drum 20.57 758 462 120 13.1 7.42 8.31

seeding in
single thin row
Direct drum 22 969 483 110 11.1 6.84 7.59
seeding in
single thick
row
Direct drum 23.53 784 392 106 7.8 6.77 7.64
seeding in
both thin and
thick row
Direct hand 21.87 743 418 121 10.3 6.25 7.89
seeding
Transplanting 21.2 233 287 120 15.8 6.42 7.05
Level of ns a
*** *** ns ns ** *
significancea
% CV 9.18 11.04 6.19 25.56 25.53 4.04 5.21
± SE 1.196 44.491 14.5829 16.989 1.7124 0.157 0.2314
a
ns = nonsignificant.

Yield (t ha-1)
Table 5. Performance of direct-wet-seeded T. aman rice using a
7
drum seeder in Bangladesh, 2003 (average of 6 locations).
6.24
Variety Method Yield (t ha–1) Duration (days) 6 5.76 5.84
5.57 5.57
BR 6110-10-1-2 Direct-wet-seeded 4.8 (+18%) 122
5
rice
Transplanted rice 4.1 132 4

3
Table 6. Performance of direct-wet-seeded boro rice

Transplanting
Broadcasting

2
using a drum seeder in Bangladesh, 2004 (average of 56
Both rows
Thick row

Thin row

on-farm research locations). 1

Variety Methoda Yield (t ha–1) Duration (d)
0
BRRI dhan28 DWSR 6.0 (20%) 130 Establishment method
TPR 5.0 141
Fig. 1. Yield of dry (boro) rice as affected by method of stand
BRRI dhan29 DWSR 7.1 (18%) 152 establishment, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, 2004.
TPR 6.0 162
BRRI dhan36 DWSR 6.5 (19%) 129
TPR 5.5 141
Grain yield (t ha-1)
a
DWSR = direct-wet-seeded rice, TPR = transplanted rice. 8

Table 7. Economic analysis of direct-wet-seeded aman rice, 2003, 4 BRRI dhan28

Bangladesh (6 locations). BRRI dhan36
2 BRRI dhan29
Indicators Direct-wet- Transplanted +/– %
seeded rice rice
0
Cost of production 19,719 20,955 –5.9 8 Dec 18 Dec 28 Dec
Gross return 32,803 27,086 21.1 Date of seeding
Gross margin 13,084 6,131 113.4
Fig. 2. Effect of date of seeding on yield due to direct wet seeding by
Benefit-cost ratio 1.66 1.29 a drum seeder, boro, 2004.

34
 In some places, labor displacement could be • A reduction in pesticide use is expected to
an issue. As part of our social responsibility, have a positive effect on the environment
a critical ex ante analysis is needed for each and on households and the national
situation/state or country. Experience suggests economy.
that economic development in rural areas over • A community participatory approach is
time may absorb the labor displaced. essential for the technology’s success due to
In June 2004, a farmer participatory its uniqueness.
workshop was held at BRRI headquarters. • A farming systems perspective is needed
Farmers identified the strengths and to identify where the technology will bring
weaknesses of direct wet seeding. the desired benefits.
Recommendations were made for suitable areas, • Several research needs exists:
cropping systems, and land and soil types for - Weed and water management
use of a drum seeder for direct seeding. - N management
- Adjustment with cropping systems for
Conclusions improving system productivity
• In many circumstances, the improved, cheap - Varieties
($25), lightweight (6–7 kg) plastic drum - Lodging behavior
seeder will enable farmers to deal with labor - Insect and disease interaction
shortages and the short period of time - Can this technology be successful in
available for planting, and thus may enable favorable upland conditions?
them to plant on time. - A socioeconomic analysis of labor
• Apart from economic and yield advantages, displacement
earlier harvest may allow further crop
intensification and save crops from drought
or early floods, thus enhancing food
security.

35
Characterizing and understanding the socioeconomic
conditions of farming households in rainfed rice
environments: a case in eastern Uttar Pradesh
T. Paris, A.D. Cueno, and A. Singh
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the staple food for more
than three billion people, more than half the
world’s population. It provides 27% of dietary
energy and 20% of dietary protein in the
developing world. Rice is cultivated in at least
114 mostly developing countries and is the
primary source of income and employment for
more than 100 million households in Asia and
Africa (FAO 2004). Of the 840 million people
suffering from chronic hunger, more than 50%
live in areas dependent on rice production.
About 80% of the world’s rice is produced on
small farms, primarily to meet family needs,
and poor rural farmers account for 80% of all
rice producers (FAO 2004). In Asia and sub-
Saharan Africa, almost all rice is grown on
small farms of 0.5 to 3 ha. Fully two-thirds
of the world’s poor live in Asia and almost
all of these eat rice. Rice is also becoming
a staple food in sub-Saharan Africa, where
urban dwellers who only a few decades ago
rarely ate rice now consume it daily. Per capita
consumption has doubled since 1970 to 27 kg.
In the mega-cities of Asia, the poorest of the
poor may spend up to 50% of their total income
on rice, not other food, but rice! So, anything
that lowers the price of rice will directly benefit
hundreds of millions of poor consumers
and anything that increases rice-farming
productivity will benefit millions of rice farmers
and their families (Zeigler 2006).
Because rice is critical for food security in
so many of the poorest countries, investments
in the rice sector should be designed to
alleviate poverty and meet the food demands
of still-growing—and increasingly urbanized—
populations. To meet the dual challenge of
producing enough food and alleviating poverty,
more rice needs to be produced at a low unit
36
cost so that producers can be ensured of
reasonable profits, poor consumers can have
the benefit of low prices, and the environment
and ecosystem services can be safeguarded
(Bouman et al 2007). In a symposium, Zeigler
(2006) mentioned that, if we are going to focus
on poverty, we have to invest relatively more
resources and establish a greater presence in
rainfed areas. Rainfed rice accounts for 50%
of the rice-growing area. If productivity can
be improved in these areas, it will not only
improve people’s lives but will also contribute
to food security. Rainfed means that the
crop depends exclusively on rainfall, and in
some cases unpredictable floods, for water.
Because rainfall can be so variable, rice in
rainfed areas typically is prone to drought
and catastrophic flooding, sometimes in the
same year, and, since the environments are
so difficult and yields so unreliable, farmers
rarely apply fertilizer and tend to not grow
improved varieties. Thus, yields are very low
(1–2 t ha–1). Aside from drought and flooding,
the productive capacity of rice environments is
also being threatened by salinity and climate
change.
Although these conditions cause generally
low productivity, about one billion people
depend on rainfed lowland rice in South
and Southeast Asia. Because of the low and
unstable productivity, poverty is severe in
communities largely dependent on rainfed rice
(e.g., most of eastern India). In drought years,
food consumption decreases, indebtedness
increases, assets are sold, and household
members migrate. Therefore, droughts can
have long-term destabilizing effects on poor
communities and reduce productivity even
in nondrought years because farmers, fearing
crop loss, avoid investing (Pandey et al 2001).
Although the importance of rainfed areas and
the growing dependency of farm families are
evident, research efforts in this area thus far
have been limited and less successful compared
with irrigated ecosystems that have been the
focus of rice research because of their leading
role in rice production. However, advances in
genomics and molecular biology of rice, enabled
by the sequencing of its genome (the first of
the crop species), and improved analytical
approaches have allowed rice scientists—
breeders, geneticists, and physiologists—to
make dramatic progress in developing rice lines
that tolerate complete submergence, drought,
and salinity (Zeigler 2006).
In this paper, the farms and farm
households under various types of stress
environments were characterized to develop
a systematic understanding of the livelihood
of poor rural households in drought-prone,
submergence-prone, and salt-affected areas
of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. This serves
as a basis for exploring opportunities to
improve land and water productivity of
rice-based crop production systems through
innovative interventions that integrate genetic
improvement and management strategies,
which are environmentally sustainable
and socially acceptable to resource-poor
farmers. This paper also investigates the
input-output (i.e., land, labor, and capital)
markets in rice production and their effects
on income distribution. It also identifies the
constraints in crop production under different
types of ecosystems and presents plausible
opportunities to improve farmers’ livelihood.
Methodology
The International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI), in cooperation with our collaborators
in Narendra Deva University of Agriculture
and Technology (NDUAT), began conducting
benchmark surveys in 2004-05 on drought-
prone, submergence-prone, and salt-affected
areas in India. The principal investigators-
collaborators facilitated the work, especially
in the selection of the project sites, sample
respondents, and, consequently, in the
management of the household surveys and
data collection. The study covered five villages
in Faizabad, Sultanpur, and Siddharthnagar
districts located in the eastern part of
Uttar Pradesh, India, popularly known as
“Purvanchal” (Fig. 1). Rainfed agriculture is
still a major activity in the region. Rice is the
dominant crop and accounts for 60% of the
total rice area of the state. The agroecological
conditions are diverse. Crops are affected by
frequent flood, drought, salinity, and sodicity,
which result in low productivity.
Two villages, Bhola Pandey ka Purwa and
Sinhani in Faizabad and Sultanpur districts,
respectively, were selected to represent the area
affected by salinity/sodicity.
A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was
first conducted in these areas to identify the
villages appropriate for the purpose of the
study of the Challenge Program on Water and
Food (CPWF) project. The villages were selected
based on (1) the vastness of area affected by
salinity/sodicity, (2) physiographical conditions,
and (3) rice is the major crop grown in the area.
On the other hand, three villages
with rainfed lowland environments were
purposively selected in Faizabad and
Siddharthnagar to carry out activities of a
Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environments
(CURE) project. The villages Zivpur in
Faizabad and Karaideeh and Pipehrawa in
Siddharthnagar were selected representing two
different major rice-growing environments.
Zivpur characterizes the drought environment,
whereas the latter villages represent
submergence-prone areas due to flash flooding
during the wet season. These villages are
the same sites used in on-farm trials for
submergence-tolerant varieties under CURE
BMZ and PVS trials on component technologies.
This includes the rice varietal trials that were
conducted by NDUAT and IRRI under the
ICAR-IRRI Collaborative Rainfed Rice Program
for validation of technologies in farmers’ fields.
A total of 125 household respondents were
interviewed in the five villages classified into
three different ecosystems. Twenty-five samples
were randomly chosen to represent drought-
prone areas and 50 samples each to characterize
37
 Fig. 1. Map of selected sites in Uttar Pradesh, India, 2005.
submergence-prone and salt-affected areas.
Primary household data collection was carried
out with the use of a well-structured pretested
field schedule. The information collected was
socio-demographic, economic, and biophysical
characteristics of the farming households;
farm characteristics; and household economic
conditions. Other qualitative and quantitative
information was also gathered through focus
group discussions with key informants.
Descriptive statistical tools were essentially
used to analyze the survey data. Costs and
returns analysis was carried out to determine
the proportion of production inputs to total
costs, as well as to derive the income received
by farmers in rice production in various stress
environments.
38
Other factors that significantly constrained
rice production were determined and problems
associated with these constraints were then
prioritized to identify alternative management
options that can alleviate the adverse effects.
Results and discussion
Household characteristics
The majority of respondents in all types of
environment belong to the lower caste with an
average household size of 7 in both drought-
prone and sodic environments, and 8 family
members in submergence-prone areas (Table 1).
The number of unpaid farming laborers can be
determined by household size. The bigger the
household size, the more unpaid family labor is
available to do farming activities, thus lowering
the production cost. Male farm operators, as
 Table 1. Socio-demographic characteristics of sample households which may shift their production possibility
by type of environment. curve upward. Educated farmers are more
Indicator Drought Submergence Sodic likely to adopt modern farm inputs and prefer
conditions
risky production technologies. However, in
Total number of sample 25 50 50
households some studies, a negative impact of education
Total number in house- 175 375 367 on productivity arises, probably because of the
holds cross-country variation in the nature of the
technology underlying agricultural production.
Proportion of households Among the young population (5–15 years
by caste
old), the literacy rate was also high, suggesting
Upper 44 – 20
that farmers, irrespective of their socioeconomic
Backward 40 50 54
status, are now more aware of the advantages
Scheduled 8 – 26
of sending their children to school. A high
Muslim 8 50 –
Total 100 100 100
literacy rate is also due to awareness of many
programs launched by the government
Average household size
by caste to educate the children. The government
Upper 6 – 8 provides subsidies such as a mid-day meal,
Backward 9 7 8 free education at the primary level, and free
Scheduled 4 – 6 education for girls up to the college level.
Muslim 8 8 – A majority of the respondents are male
All castes (av) 7 8 7 heads of the household. In most cases when
the husbands have to leave the village to
Average age
find seasonal employment during the slack
Male operator 45 45 48
periods on the farm, the wife may act as
Wife 40 42 42
the de facto head of the family in both the
Average years in school household and on the farm. Agriculture is the
Male operator 5 4 5
main source of income of farming families
Wife 2 1 2
in the drought-prone (45%) and salt-affected
Literacy rate (in %) 57 60 65 areas (31%). In submergence-prone areas,
Adults household members are mostly migrants and
Male 21 22 29 are engaged in nonfarm activities (33%) such
Female 9 9 14 as tailor, salesman, driver, and a skilled worker
Children in the private sector. A significant proportion
Male 14 15 16 (22%), though, worked in agriculture-related
Female 13 14 6 activities either in crop and animal farming
Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE projects, 2004-05.
or as an agricultural laborer. The average
of 43% nonworking population in all types
well as their wives, are by and large in their of environment consists of students, family
forties. The wives, however, are younger than members who belong to the working population
their husbands by 3 to 6 years. The average but do not work at all, and housewives who
years in school of male operators is 5 years, also played an active role in rice farming but
which is 3 years higher than the educational classified themselves as housewives (Table
level of the wives. A higher literacy rate can be 2). They do most of the farming activities
observed among males than among females, after land preparation, while the husbands
especially in the salt-affected environment. migrate and engage in nonfarm activities for
In theory, education is expected to improve better income. For well-off families, female
productivity in all spheres of activities, members are confined in their home and just do
including agriculture. Education will increase household activities. Others also do livestock
farmers’ accessibility to useful information, raising.

39
Biophysical and farm characteristics farmers with very small landholdings can be
Socioeconomic groups by farm size. In all observed in the drought-prone (84%) and salt-
environments, an average of 71% of the farm affected (70%) areas, with an average farm size
families were very poor with less than 1 ha of of 0.84 ha and 1.0 ha, respectively (Fig. 2). In the
landholding (marginal category), 17% had 1 to 2 submergence-prone areas, average landholding
ha of cultivated land (small category), whereas is 1.4 ha, which shows that the farmers are
the rest (12%) had more than 2 ha (medium also operating in small-scale rice farming. This
and large category) (Fig. 2). A majority of the indicates that, in all types of environment, it is
difficult for farmers to ensure household food
(rice) security only from their own production.
Table 2. Proportion of adult household members by occupation
and by type of environment. In addition, rice is grown only during the
Occupation Drought Submergence Sodic conditions kharif season and on limited lands. With these
Agriculture 45 22 31 conditions, marginal and small farmers either
Nonagriculture 15 33 26 have to increase rice productivity through
Student 8 1 7 improved technologies or seek nonfarm
No occupation 32 44 36 employment and income for family survival.
Total 100 100 100 However, according to Ramasamy and Selvaraj
Source: Baseline Survey on Rural Households, CURE and CPWF Projects, 2004-05.

Medium and
large
Marginal
(>2 ha) 8%
(1 ha and below)
84%

Small
(1.01to 2 ha) Medium and Marginal
8% large (1 ha and below)
(>2 ha) 58%
DROUGHT 12%
0.84 ha

Small
(1.01 to 2 ha)
30% SUBMERGENCE
Medium and
large Marginal
(>2 ha) (1 ha and below)
16% 70%

Small
(1.01 to 2 ha)
14%
SODIC

Fig. 2. Proportion of sample households by size of landholding and by type of environment.

40
(2006), even though technologies are available
to restore the productivity of degraded lands,
adoption of technologies by farmers is poor.
Hence, the development and commercialization
of technologies for drought and salt tolerance for
water-limiting and saline and alkaline soils hold
great promise for the prosperity of agriculture,
particularly for rice production.
Cropping pattern. The crop year is divided
into two growing seasons: the kharif or
monsoon season (June-September) and the rabi
or winter season (October-May). In the lowlands,
rice-wheat is the predominant cropping pattern
(Fig. 3). Rice is planted sometime in June-July
and harvested in November, depending on the
growth duration of the varieties used. Farmers
who used short- and medium-duration varieties
(normally 110–135 days) harvested their produce
in September, especially those in the midlands
and uplands. After harvesting rice, farmers
broadcast wheat immediately to benefit from the
moisture left in the soil. In most cases, farmers
also broadcast mustard seeds after sowing
wheat. Wheat is harvested from the last week
of March until mid-April, whereas mustard
is usually harvested in early March. If rice is
harvested late, wheat is also sown late. In this
case, wheat is no longer mixed with mustard.
Rice-potato, rice-pea, rice-linseed, and rice-
lentil are other cropping sequences. All these
rabi crops are planted in October after rice
except for lentil, which is grown in November.
Potato is harvested in January, whereas the
rest are harvested in March. Basically, these
crops are grown for home consumption.
Farmers who raise livestock and have access to
supplementary irrigation also grow berseem (a
fodder crop) during this period to supplement
animal feed requirements. In the uplands,
some farmers grow sugarcane and pigeon pea
throughout the year. We can thus see how
farmers maximize the use of their limited
resources to augment their income as well as
meet their daily needs.
Rice is the main crop grown during the wet
season in all types of environment, particularly
in submergence-prone areas, covering 93% of
the total cultivated land, whereas the other
two stress environments cover a little less than
60% (Table 3). Other crops such as sugarcane,
pigeon pea, pulses, vegetables, and fodder
crops are also grown in upland areas during
this season. An average of 17% of the total
cultivable land in all types of environment
is kept fallow because farmers do not have a
suitable variety or management option for this
type of land, notably farms in the salt-affected
areas with 32% barren land. This is because of
the distinct characteristic of the soil that hardly
any single crop could grow under high sodicity
and the absence of effective crop and water
management options to mitigate the adverse
effect of this type of soil. In the dry season,
there is more diversity in the crops grown
after rice (Table 4). Wheat is largely cultivated
during this season, either alone or mixed with
other rabi crops.
Land type. Rice in the drought-prone and
sodic areas is mostly grown in uplands,
whereas, in submergence-prone areas, rice is
grown in both uplands (48%) and lowlands
(52%) (Table 5). In India, out of the 7 million
hectares of upland rice, 6 million hectares
are concentrated in eastern India, comprising
eastern Uttar Pradesh (the study area),
Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, and
Assam. Upland areas of these states together
constitute about 13.5% of the total area under
rice in the country. The productivity of
upland rice is very poor. In comparison with
the present national average productivity of
about 1.9 t ha–1, the average yield of rice in
upland areas in the country is only 0.90 t ha–1.
This is because rice cultivation under upland
conditions faces different degrees of moisture
stress, which affects plant growth and brings
about less tillering capacity, sterility, delayed
flowering, and lower harvest ratio (grain-straw
ratio). These factors or a combination of these
contribute to lower grain yield in upland rice
areas. Aside from soil moisture stress, most
studies suggest that the low productivity of
rice in upland areas is due to drought, lack of
resistance to/tolerance of diseases and pests, soil
acidity/toxicity, inadequate plant population,
and low nutrient status of soils. Lowland rice
area, on the other hand, is about 14.4 million ha,
which accounts for 32.4% of the total area under
41
Fig. 3. Cropping pattern of selected villages.

42
 Table 3. Crops grown during the kharif season by type of environment.
Crop Drought Submergence Sodic conditions
Total area % of total Total area % of total Total area % of total
(ha) area (ha) area (ha) area
Rice 12.1 56.9 45.5 93.3 32.7 55.8
Sugarcane 0.5 2.3 – – 1.7 2.9
Pigeon pea – – – – 2.4 4.1
Maize – – – – 1.0 1.7
Curbi – – – – 2.0 3.4
Pulses 0.9 4.1 0.3 0.5 – –
Spices 0.0 0.1 – – – –
Vegetables 5.1 23.8 – – – –
Urd – – 0.3 0.6 0.2 0.3
Fallow 2.7 12.7 2.7 5.5 18.6 31.7
Total 21.3 100.0 48.8 100.0 58.6 100.0
Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE and CPWF projects, 2004-05.

Table 4. Crops grown during the rabi season by type of environment.

Crop Drought Submergence Sodic conditions
Total area % of total Total area % of total Total area % of total
(ha) area (ha) area (ha) area
Wheat 10.1 47.1 26.9 55.6 27.5 47.1
Sugarcane 0.5 2.3 – – 1.3 2.1
Pulses 0.9 4.1 0.4 0.8 – –
Oil seed – – – – 0.5 0.9
Potato 1.0 4.4 1.2 2.5 2.9 5.0
Onion 0.4 1.9 0.3 0.6 – –
Burseem – – – – 0.3 0.6
Spices 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.5 – –
Vegetables 3.5 16.1 0.1 0.1 – –
Mixed rabi 0.1 0.5 8.6 17.9 5.4 9.2
crops
Pea 0.8 3.9 1.8 3.6 4.6 7.9
Lentil – – 5.6 11.5 3.2 5.4
Linseed – – – – 0.3 0.5
Fallow 4.2 19.6 3.3 6.8 12.5 21.4
Total 21.5 100.0 48.5 100.0 58.5 100.0
Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE and CPWF projects, 2004-05.

rice in the country. The average productivity
of rice in lowland areas ranges from 1.0 to 1.2
t ha–1 vis-à-vis national average productivity
of 1.9 t ha–1. Still, productivity is low because
rice farms in lowland areas are subjected to
flooding during the southwest monsoon period.
The intensity of floods differs from year to year
due to variation in factors such as nature and
frequency of flooding, water depth, turbidity,
and silt and vegetation from place to place
(Diwakar 2006).
Soil type. The soil in the major rice-growing
belt was sandy-loam type, particularly in
drought-prone and sodic areas (also in Table
5). In this type of soil, plant nutrient applied
through fertilizer is lost rapidly and investment
in fertilizers becomes risky, especially when
crops are grown in high-elevation rainfed areas.
Rainwater in this area is lost rapidly through
deep percolation because of the upland location
and loose texture of the soil. This causes low
water retention capacity by the soil due to
43
high permeability that brings in moisture- Table 5. Biophysical characteristics of farms by type of environ-
stress conditions quickly after the cessation of ment.
rain (Diwakar 2006). In submergence-prone Item Drought Submergence Sodic conditions

areas, soil type was mostly clay/black soil Soil type

(61%), as well as loamy (18%). The clay type Loamy 7 18 9

of soil is a deep bluish black soil with high Sandy-loam 59 9 51

Clay/black soil 6 61 31
moisture retention capacity. It is well suited
Clay-loam – 12 2
for rabi crops, particularly wheat. However,
Sandy 28 – –
submergence is predominant, especially in
Saline-alkaline – – 7
low-lying areas. The loamy type, on the other
Total 100 100 100
hand, is intermediate in soil moisture retention
between clayey and sandy-loamy. This is more
Land type
or less an all-purpose soil, which is suitable for
Upland 67 48 75
rice production. Lowland 33 52 25
Type of irrigation. Irrigation has proved to be Total 100 100 100
the most effective drought-proofing mechanism
and single biggest factor in bringing about Type of irrigation 24 9 34
a large measure of stability in agricultural Own diesel pump 20 13 18
production (Indian Ministry of Water Resources Rent diesel pump 27 9
2007). The water requirement of the rice crop is Government tubewell 1 – –
higher than that of any other crop. An assured No irrigation 7 78 2
and timely supply of irrigation water has a Total 100 100 100
significant influence on crop yield. Obviously,
drought-prone and salt-affected areas require
a considerable amount of water for their crops
management and farming practices adopted
to survive; thus, access to supplementary
by farmer-respondents in rice cultivation and
irrigation is of paramount importance (see
the technologies adopted to improve their
also Table 5). Sources of irrigation are diesel
productivity.
pumps, electric motors, and government-owned
electric tubewells. Many households own diesel Crop production management and farming
pumps and electric tubewells, but the majority practices
of farmers rent them, which is very expensive.
Rice varieties. Farmers in drought-prone and
Diesel pumps are the most reliable source of
sodic areas basically used improved varieties in
irrigation and they cost Rs 60 per hour. In times
rice farming (i.e., Sarjoo 52, Sambha Mahsuri,
of oil price hikes, farmers rarely irrigate their
Swarna, Pant 10, Pant 12, Mahsuri, Usar Dhan-
crops and depend on rainwater for irrigation.
3, Basmati, NDR 97, NDR 359, and Hybrid).
Current farming practices adopted by farm- In sodic areas, Sarjoo 52 and Pant 10 are most
ers in rice cultivation and technologies being commonly used for the following reasons:
introduced medium duration, good straw, medium plant
height, bold grains, responsiveness to fertilizer,
To achieve sustainability in agriculture,
and good yield. Aside from these two varieties,
effective farming practices and efficient crop
Sambha, Swarna, NDR 359, and Mahsuri
production management are necessary to
are also high-yielding; thus, many farmers
uphold and increase the viability of agricultural
also plant these types in both environments,
production and safeguard or enhance the
especially in low-lying areas (Table 6A). Usar
natural resource base and other ecosystems
Dhan-3, grown by a few marginal and small
that are affected by agricultural activities.
farmers, is also observed to be suitable for
This section presents various production
sodic lands. It yields around 2.63–3.06 t ha–1

44
compared with other varieties that yielded
no more than 1 t ha–1 or yield nil in worse
conditions (Table 6B).
In eastern Uttar Pradesh, one characteristic
looked for in the selection of varieties to
produce is plant duration since this area is
affected by irrigation and soil quality problems.
In submergence-prone areas, farmers mostly
grow traditional varieties in both lowland
and upland areas. Sarya is grown in uplands
while Jarethwa, Bhaislot, and Kalanamak are
grown in lowlands. Sambha Mahsuri is the only
improved variety grown by farmers in shallow
lowlands because of the many positive traits
possessed regarding quality, duration, yield,
good straw, medium plant height, fine grain
size, suitability to land type, and a high price
for paddy.
Crop establishment. In drought-prone and
sodic areas, farmers normally apply farmyard
manure (FYM) and plow the field 2 to 3 times
for seedbed preparation. Sowing is usually
done in mid-May to mid-June. Thereafter, land
is plowed 3­–4 times by tractor. When seedlings
reach 22–30 days of age, transplanting is done.
Harvesting and threshing are usually carried
out manually and are mostly done by females.
Farmers basically depend on rainwater for
irrigation because of the high cost of diesel,
although, sometimes, if farmers have the
means, they use supplementary irrigation by
either diesel or electric pump. In submergence-
prone areas, sowing, land preparation, planting,
and harvesting are carried out as in other
types of environment except that, in seedbed
preparation, farmers basically use direct
seeding and do not apply FYM. Threshing is
done mostly by tractor, followed by manual
threshing.
Fertilizer application and plant protection.
Farmers in all types of environment generally
do not apply chemical fertilizer, although a few
of them apply N fertilizer after establishing
seedlings. Doses vary according to land type
and variety used per season. Before planting,
a few farmers use DAP as basal. No control
measures are used against insect pests and
diseases unless necessary because of health
hazards, especially during the dry season.
Manual weeding is done once or twice during
crop growth, though some farmers do not
use any weed control measures, especially in
submergence-prone areas.
Adoption of technology
NDUAT scientists introduced the participating
farmers to technologies that will enhance
their productivity. Among these are the use
of Sesbania for green manuring, pressmud
for integrated nutrient management, salt-
tolerant varieties adaptable to soil with high
pH (i.e., Usar Dhan-3, CSR 30, NDRK 5089),
submergence-tolerant lines in affected areas,
and seed health training. In the selection
of varieties, farmers appreciated the use of
Usar Dhan-3 and CSR 30 in salt-affected
areas because of their remarkable qualities
compared with those of other varieties.
Farmers mentioned that Usar Dhan, besides its
good taste, gives good yield and has medium
planting duration, whereas CSR 30 has fine
grain, is easy to thresh, and does not lodge.
Regarding fertilizer, the use of Sesbania fixes
nitrogen in the soil, thereby reducing the use
of fertilizer containing nitrogen, thus reducing
the cost of fertilizer input, which is favorable to
farmers. In addition, the crop following rice also
benefits from a residual effect. This method
reclaims sodic soil, can be easily adopted by
farmers, and is environment-friendly. This is
why farmers by far use Sesbania before planting
rice. Alternatively, pressmud, which consists
of sugarcane wastes, is also found to be good
in sodic soils and it gives good yield, but the
cost of transporting it inhibits farmers from
adopting this technology because of insufficient
capital.
Labor use and costs and returns
Gender division of labor in rice production
Rice production is a labor-intensive activity,
especially in areas where irrigation is a
problem. Both men and women are actively
involved in rice farming either as family labor
or hired labor. Men basically are tasked to
do land preparation, using either animals or
machines, fertilizer and pesticide application,
45
 Table 6A. Total and average rice area and yield by land type, by variety, and by type of environment.
Village Upland Lowland Total
Number Total area Average Number Total area Average Number Total area Average
(ha) yield (t ha–1) (ha) yield (t ha–1) (ha) yield (t ha–1)
Drought
Saryu-52 5 0.75 2.78 – – – 5 0.75 2.78
Swarna Mahsuri 2 0.20 3.63 5 2.08 3.95 7 2.28 3.86
Sambha Mahsuri – – – 10 4.90 3.70 10 4.90 3.70
Hybrid 4 0.30 4.13 3 0.80 4.89 7 1.10 4.45
Tall Mahsuri 1 0.40 1.96 8 2.70 2.54 9 3.10 2.48
Total 12 1.65 3.30 26 10.48 3.53 38 12.13 3.46

Submergence
Saryu-52 1 0.25 1.40 – – – 1 0.25 1.40
Swarna Mahsuri – – – 1 0.25 2.50 1 0.25 2.50
Sambha Mahsuri – – – 22 12.19 2.59 22 12.19 2.59
Hybrid 11 1.63 3.71 – – – 11 1.63 3.71
PVS line – – – 3 0.25 2.43 3 0.25 2.43
Gorakhnath 1 0.38 3.50 1 0.25 3.00 2 0.63 3.25
NDR 97 10 1.69 1.91 – – – 10 1.69 1.91
Kalanamak 1 0.06 1.50 10 2.06 1.26 11 2.13 1.28
Sarya 29 5.63 1.60 2 0.88 2.25 31 6.50 1.65
Rashmi 7 1.19 2.25 – – – 7 1.19 2.25
Tall Mahsuri – – – 10 1.94 1.99 10 1.94 1.99
Sugandhwala 1 0.13 1.50 2 – – 1 0.13 1.50
Padhnii 1 0.06 3.00 – – – 1 0.06 3.00
Radha-4 3 0.88 1.90 10 – – 3 0.88 1.90
Bengalia 3 0.38 1.28 – – – 3 0.38 1.28
Farmbagri 3 1.13 2.00 – – – 3 1.13 2.00
Jarethwa – – – 32 11.06 0.71 32 11.06 0.71
Bhaislot – – – 7 2.88 0.89 7 2.88 0.89
Lalsengar – – – 2 0.38 0.38 2 0.38 0.38
Total 71 13.41 2.09 90 32.14 1.52 161 45.55 1.77

Sodic conditions
Saryu-52 45 10.38 4.29 4 1.70 4.10 49 12.08 4.28
Swarna Mahsuri – – – 9 2.03 4.16 9 2.03 4.16
Sambha Mahsuri 2 0.50 5.19 14 2.78 4.51 16 3.28 4.59
Hybrid 1 0.40 5.19 – – – 1 0.40 5.19
Pant 10 54 9.18 3.96 1 0.30 4.17 55 9.48 3.97
Pant 12 1 0.10 3.65 – – – 1 0.10 3.65
Mahsuri – – – 15 2.35 – 15 2.35 3.65
Usar Dhan-3 7 1.3 2.81 – – – 7 1.25 2.81
Basmati 6 0.60 3.64 – – 3.04 6 0.60 3.64
NDR 97 6 0.90 2.85 – – – 6 0.90 2.85
NDR 359 4 0.21 5.00 – – – 4 0.21 5.00
Total 126 23.54 4.01 43 9.16 3.88 169 32.68 3.97
Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE and CPWF projects, 2004-05.

46
Table 6B. Total rice area and average yield by farm size, by variety, and by type of environment.
Village Marginal Small Medium and large Total
Number Total Average Number Total Average Number Total Average Number Total Average
area yield area yield area yield area (ha) yield
(ha) (t ha–1) (ha) (t ha–1) (ha) (t ha–1) (t ha–1)
Drought
Saryu-52 5 0.75 2.78 – – – – – – 5 0.75 2.78
Swarna Mahsuri 5 0.98 2.46 1 0.30 4.17 1 1.00 5.50 7 2.28 3.86
Sambha Mahsuri 7 1.90 3.55 – – – 3 3.00 4.03 10 4.90 3.70
Hybrid 7 1.10 4.45 – – – – – – 7 1.10 4.45
Tall Mahsuri 8 2.89 2.35 1 0.30 3.50 – – – 9 3.10 2.48
Total 32 7.53 3.31 2 0.60 3.84 4 4.00 4.40 38 12.13 3.46

Submergence
Saryu-52 – – – 1 0.25 1.40 – – – 1 0.25 1.40
Swarna Mahsuri – – – 1 0.25 2.50 – – – 1 0.25 2.50
Sambha Mahsuri 9 3.00 2.84 9 4.56 2.60 4 4.63 2.01 22 12.19 2.59
Hybrid 1 0.13 5.00 6 1.00 2.93 4 0.50 4.55 11 1.63 3.71
PVS line – – – 3 0.25 2.43 – – – 3 0.25 2.43
Gorakhnath 1 0.25 3.00 1 0.38 3.50 – – – 2 0.63 3.25
NDR 97 6 1.00 1.59 4 0.69 2.40 – – – 10 1.69 1.91
Kalanamak 3 0.19 1.53 7 0.69 1.33 1 1.25 0.20 11 2.13 1.28
Sarya 17 2.44 1.45 10 2.44 1.79 4 1.63 2.13 31 6.50 1.65
Rashmi – – – 7 1.19 2.25 – – – 7 1.19 2.25
Tall Mahsuri 3 0.44 3.22 7 1.50 1.46 – – – 10 1.94 1.99
Sugandhwala 1 0.13 1.50 – – – – – – 1 0.13 1.50
Padhnii 1 0.06 3.00 – – – – – – 1 0.06 3.00
Radha-4 – – – 2 0.38 1.60 1 0.50 2.50 3 0.88 1.90
Bengalia – – – 3 0.38 1.28 – – – 3 0.38 1.28
Farmbagri 1 0.13 1.50 1 0.50 2.50 1 0.50 2.00 3 1.13 2.00
Jarethwa 21 5.06 0.63 6 2.00 1.21 5 4.00 0.45 32 11.06 0.71
Bhaislot 3 1.13 1.11 1 0.50 1.30 3 1.25 0.53 7 2.88 0.89
Lalsengar 1 0.13 0.00 1 0.25 0.75 – – – 2 0.38 0.38
Total 68 14.9 1.54 70 17.21 1.96 23 14.26 1.88 161 45.55 1.77

Sodic conditions
Saryu-52 28 5.08 4.20 10 2.80 4.48 11 4.20 4.29 49 12.08 4.28
Swarna Mahsuri 4 0.63 3.71 5 1.40 4.51 – 0.00 – 9 2.03 4.16
Sambha Mahsuri 6 0.78 4.44 5 1.50 4.56 5 1.00 4.81 16 3.28 4.59
Hybrid – 0.00 – 1 0.40 5.19 – 0.00 – 1 0.40 5.19
Pant 10 36 4.08 4.12 3 0.40 3.77 16 5.00 3.66 55 9.48 3.97
Pant 12 1 0.10 3.65 – 0.00 – 0 0.00 – 1 0.10 3.65
Mahsuri 13 1.55 3.00 1 0.50 3.30 1 0.30 3.30 15 2.35 3.04
Usar Dhan-3 4 0.35 2.63 3 0.90 3.06 – 0.00 – 7 1.25 2.81
Basmati 5 0.50 4.07 0 0.00 – 1 0.10 1.50 6 0.60 3.64
NDR 97 3 0.30 2.75 3 0.60 2.95 – 0.00 – 6 0.90 2.85
NDR 359 4 0.21 5.00 – 0.00 – 0 0.00 – 4 0.21 5.00
Total 104 13.58 3.93 31 8.50 4.13 34 10.60 3.96 169 32.68 3.97
Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE Project and CPWF projects, 2004-05.

47
and irrigation. On the other hand, women
are responsible for transplanting, weeding,
harvesting, and threshing, but men sometimes
help in performing these activities.
To do all the rice cultivation activities, a
total average of 131 person-days is needed to
complete one crop. Farmers in salt-affected
areas work as many as 193 person-days,
whereas in drought-prone and submergence-
prone areas, farmers use only 126 and 75
person-days per hectare, respectively. Women
notably contribute the days in rice cultivation
(Table 7).
Table 8 clearly shows that activities mostly
done by women require more labor. An average
of 92% of the total labor-days is needed to carry
out transplanting, weeding, harvesting, and
threshing activities in all environments.
These results indicate that female labor
participation, regardless of the type of
ecosystem, dominates activities done on the
farm. This is because of economic pressure
that pushes members of farm households, who
normally work on the farm, to seek off-farm
work, leaving the partner to look after the farm
(normally the women). Given this condition,
there is an enormous need to provide women
with technical knowledge and expertise to
enable them to make sound farm management
decisions since they are the ones left on the
farm. This strategy is expected to contribute
toward improvements in labor productivity,
increase income, reduce hunger, and improve
the well-being of the entire family.
Costs and returns analysis of rice in different
rainfed environments meticulous crop and nutrient management (see
To determine the profitability of rice production
on different rainfed environments in eastern
Uttar Pradesh, a costs and returns analysis was
done (Table 9). Values for cost and return items
were expressed on a per hectare basis. The
structure of the cost accounts in the analysis
includes noncash costs. Costs for family labor
and use of own resources were given imputed
values using the existing wage rates and rental
fees. In doing so, net income should therefore
be seen as an indicator of a farmer’s ability to
recover both cash and noncash costs of rice
48
production instead of the typical notion of
profit.
The average parcel size cultivated during
the wet season in all types of environment is
0.32 ha with an average rice yield of 3.03 t ha–1.
The high yield of rice in salt-affected areas (4.11
t ha–1) and drought-prone areas (3.47 t ha–1)
could be attributed to the intensive use of high-
yielding varieties accompanied by suitable crop
and natural resource management practices. In
submergence-prone areas, the low yield (1.51 t
ha–1) of rice could be accounted for by continued
use of local rice varieties using low inputs
because of several abiotic constraints faced
by farmers. Traditional varieties according to
farmers are more tolerant of both submergence-
and drought-prone environments. In addition
to the nonavailability of location-specific
high-yielding varieties, farmers are forced to
continue to use local traditional varieties due
to a lack of awareness about high-yielding
varieties. In a study by Sarkarung (1996), as
cited by Paris et al (2000), he mentioned that the
majority of improved rice cultivars developed
on-station failed to perform under farmers’
conditions. This implies that the newly released
cultivars could not compete with native and
traditional cultivars under adverse conditions
in which water and fertility are not controlled.
The total cost spent on rice cultivation was
highest in sodic (Rs 10,100 ha­­­­­­–1) and drought-
prone (Rs 7,701 ha­­–1) areas. This was caused
by high labor input use as well as fertilizer
consumption (Rs 2,320 in sodic areas and Rs
1,257 in drought-prone areas), as these areas use
modern varieties in rice farming that require
also Table 9).
Among the rice input requirements, the
highest proportion of expenditures was on
labor use, both family and hired labor, that is a
little more than 50% of the total cost (Fig. 4). A
low proportion was spent on irrigation from nil
in the submergence-prone areas to 5% in sodic
areas. In addition, the cost of seed and seedling
establishment (10%) also represented the lowest
share in total rice spending.
The total gross returns obtained from rice
cultivation were also highest in drought-prone
Table 7. Labor input (person-days per hectare) in rice production by caste and type of environment.
Item Upper Backward Scheduled Muslim Total labor Percent
days
Labor days Percent Labor days Percent Labor days Percent Labor days Percent

Drought
Family labor
Male 6 14 35 54 10 14 40 52 22 37
Female 1 1 30 46 3 3 37 48 17 29

Total family labor 7 15 65 100 13 17 77 100 39 66

Hired labor
Male 10 23 – – 23 31 – – 6 10
Female 27 62 – – 39 52 – – 14 24
Total hired labor 37 85 – – 62 83 – – 20 34
Labor days
Male 16 37 35 54 33 44 40 52 28 47
Female 28 63 30 46 42 56 37 48 31 53

Submergence
Family labor
Male – – 21 51 – – 24 47 23 49
Female – – 16 38 – – 16 31 16 34
Total family labor 37 89 40 78 39 83

Hired labor
Male – – 2 6 – – 5 9 4 8
Female – – 2 5 – – 7 13 4 9
Total hired labor
– – 4 11 – – 12 22 8 17
Labor days
Male – – 24 57 – – 29 56 26 57
Female – – 18 43 – – 22 44 20 43
Total labor days – – 42 100 – – 51 100 46 100

Sodic conditions
Family labor
Male 5 8 37 48 57 59 – – 35 44
Female – – 18 23 31 32 – – 18 23
Total family labor 5 8 55 71 88 91 – – 53 67
Hired labor
Male 20 32 3 4 3 3 – – 7 9
Female 38 60 19 25 6 6 – – 19 24
Total hired labor 58 92 22 29 9 9 – – 26 33

Labor days
Male 25 40 40 52 60 62 – – 42 53
Female 38 60 37 48 37 38 – – 37 47
Total labor days 63 77 100 97 – – 79 100

Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE and CPWF projects, 2004-05.

49
 Percent
70
58 Drought
60
51 53 Submergence
50
Sodic
40

30 26 25
23
20 16 15
9
10 7 7 5
3 1 0
0
Labor Seed Fertilizer Irrigation Animal/
machine
Fig. 4. Proportion of farm expenditure items to total farm expenditure by type of
environment.

Table 8. Labor input (person-days ha–1) used in kharif and rabi seasons, by agricultural
operation and by village.
Activity Drought Submergence Sodic conditions
Labor days Percent Labor days Percent Labor days Percent
Land preparation 5 4 6 8 10 5
Transplanting 44 34 21 27 58 30
Weeding 4 3 3 4 41 21
Irrigation – – – – 3 2
Fertilizer 1 1 1 2 2 1
application
Harvesting 43 34 30 40 42 22
Threshing 30 23 15 19 37 19
Total 127 100 75 100 193 100
Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE and CPWF projects, 2004-05.

areas (Rs 20,820 ha–1) and sodic areas (Rs 17,341
ha–1) where 91% and 99%, respectively, were
mainly obtained from rice grain and the rest
from its by-products such as rice straw.
Source of income of farm families
Despite the importance of rice as a staple
food and the dependence of most resource-
poor farmers on rice farming as a source of
income, rice contributed only a small (11–19%)
proportion of total income. Hence, farming
families resort to different sources of livelihood
to spread risks (Table 10). Among the sources
of income, cash from nonfarm activities had
the most share, especially in submergence-
prone areas (75%) and sodic areas (53%). This
includes remittances received from male
family members who migrated and worked
as a skilled laborer (tailor, driver, mason, and
plumber), construction worker, salaried worker,
businessman, and salesman in nearby cities,
specifically Faizabad City. In the drought-
prone areas, income from agriculture (71%) was
substantially higher, which could be attributed
to the cultivation of crops other than rice such
as vegetables and sugarcane. Wheat production
also contributed 13% of total income.
Perception on household economic condi-
tion and self-sufficiency
A majority (90%) of the farmer-respondents in
all types of stress environments revealed that
their economic conditions had improved. Only
6% from salt-affected areas mentioned that their
situation has worsened, whereas other farmers
expressed that no change had taken place for

50
 Table 9. Costs and returns of rice production by caste and by type of environment.
Item Drought Submergence Sodic conditions
Upper Backward Scheduled Muslim Total Backward Muslim Total Upper Backward Scheduled Total
Rice yield (t ha–1) 3.35 3.68 3.64 2.97 3.47 1.01 2.00 1.51 4.10 4.16 4.00 4.11
Area (ha) 0.46 0.27 0.35 0.19 0.36 0.35 0.42 0.38 0.35 0.26 0.12 0.24
Returns (Rs)
Value of production 18,527 20,000 18,413 17,050 18,989 4,998 11,773 8,385 17,185 17,581 16,226 17,149
Value of by-products 1,735 2,013 1,775 1,500 1,831 237 1,077 657 100 318 – 192
Total returns 20,262 22,014 20,188 18,550 20,820 5,235 12,850 9,042 17,285 17,899 16,226 17,341
Costs (Rs)
Animal and machine 2,136 1,667 2,250 2,250 1,967 1,236 1,234 1,235 2,147 1,407 1,423 1,559
labor
Human labor 3,466 4,212 4,130 4,692 3,916 1,801 3,826 2,813 5,407 4,864 6,254 5,334
Seed 673 340 425 433 501 309 375 342 243 440 238 348
Urea 761 908 1,000 708 835 48 432 240 1,225 1,151 1,035 1,136
Phosphate 245 228 613 175 262 – 405 203 1,191 920 1,027 1,002
Chemical fertilizer 364 – – – 160 – 26 13 264 209 62 182
Irrigation 80 – 325 – 61 – – – 296 707 377 539
Total cost 7,726 7,355 8,743 8,258 7,701 3,394 6,297 4,845 10,773 9,698 10,415 10,100
Net returns (Rs) 12,537 14,658 11,445 10,292 13,118 1,841 6,553 4,197 6,512 8,201 5,811 7,242
Net returns ($)a 288 337 263 237 302 42 151 97 150 189 134 167
a
Exchange rate (1-1-05): $1 = Rs 43.47.
Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE and CPWF projects, 2004-05.

51
 Table 10. Average income by source and by type of environment.
Source Drought Submergence Sodic conditions
Percent Average Percent Average Percent Average
Rice 19 8,877 11 7,018 13 11,762
Wheat 14 6,473 10 6,223 15 13,713
Other crops 33 15,267 5 3,132 – –
Other agricultural 6 2,768 0 200 19 17,256
income
Total agricultural 2 33,385 26 16,573 47 42,731
income

Nonfarm income 18 8,320 53 34,320 – –

Remittances 5 2,520 22 14,360 51 47,274
Other nonfarm 5 2,560 0 0 2 2,300
income
Total nonfarm 28 13,400 75 48,680 53 49,574
income
Total 100 46,785 100 65,253 100 92,305
Source: Baseline survey on rural households, CURE and CPWF projects, 2004-05.

Table 11. Condition of farming households by type of environment.

Condition Drought Submergence Sodic conditions
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Household eco-
nomic condition
Has improved 23 92 49 98 40 80
No change 2 8 1 2 7 14
Has worsened – – – – 3 6
Total 25 100 50 100 50 100
Household condition compared to other households
Better off 7 28 3 6 19 38
More self-suf- 15 60 36 72 18 36
ficient
Poorer 2 8 11 22 13 26
No response 1 4 – – – –
Total 25 100 50 100 50 100

them. In addition, more than three-quarters of
the farmers felt that they had become better-
off and more self-sufficient now than before.
The rest believed that they had become poorer
(Table 11).
The primary reasons for this improvement
are high crop productivity due to good-quality
inputs, remittances received from family
members, as well as income from nonfarm
sources. Others reasons cited are the presence
of irrigation facilities, the use of improved
varieties, income from livestock by-products,
land and tractor rental, additional area for
cultivation, and small household size, which
is contrary to some farmers who said that
their large family size helped to improve their
economic conditions because more labor is
available to do farming activities at no cost.
In addition, more efficient and productive
male and female laborers in the family could
contribute to increasing household income.
Conversely, farmers mentioned that the lower
income (67%) they received than before was
the indicator that made them realize that

52
their economic condition had worsened. This
is due to a lack of a regular income source,
which pushes farmers toward poverty. Family
problems, large family size and more often than
not an extended family, small landholding, and
drug addiction are also some of the reasons
stated for worsening household conditions.
Constraints in crop production and research
opportunities
Problems identified by farmers
Constraints to crop productivity in various rice
stress environments are related to hydrology,
soil and nutrient management, the availability
of improved varieties suitable to the area, good-
quality seed, and the high cost of inputs. These
constraints follow:
1. Moisture stress due to unpredictable and
often inadequate rainfall, poor soil health,
and nonavailability of supplementary
irrigation facilities at the right time.
2. In early drought (June-July) periods, most
of the areas are fallowed because of the
absence of good irrigation facilities. When
the heavy rain comes, flash floods and
waterlogging/submergence occur because of
poor drainage. High salt content in the soil is
also a serious problem, especially in the dry
season.
3. The nonavailability of stress-tolerant
varieties and farmers’ lack of awareness
about the use of modern varieties caused an
incessant use of traditional local cultivars.
4. High costs of inputs, for example, high rental
costs of tractors, and irrigation pumps, the
increasing price of diesel (about Rs 36 per
liter), and high costs of fertilizer.
5. An inadequate supply of electricity to run
electric motors for irrigation.
6. A lack of awareness of suitable technology
and technical knowledge on how to
efficiently use the technology.
Potential opportunities to improve farmers’
livelihood
Given these constraints, scientists, field
workers of the government, as well as farmers
recommended and noted some opportunities
available to improve the livelihood of farm
families. The following potential opportunities
can be regarded as tools for enhancing the rural
livelihood of farmers at the target sites:
1. The introduction of suitable drought-,
submergence-, and salt-tolerant varieties.
2. Awareness of efficient crop and nutrient
management regarding the use of these
types of cultivars and ensuring their
availability.
3. The introduction of 4–5 new lines in
different ecosystems (shallow lowland,
semideep, and flash-flood areas).
4. The introduction of better crop
establishment methods such as the use of
pressmud (waste from sugarcane factories)
and Sesbania (as green manure) in rice fields
before planting in sodic areas.
5. The introduction of integrated nutrient
management in seedbed preparation.
6. Improvement in the level of technical
knowledge of farmers by need-based
training about recommended new
agricultural technologies and appropriate
cropping pattern according to the land
situation.
7. Dissemination of technologies and
evaluation of more lines of drought-,
submergence-, and salt-tolerant varieties in
the form of adaptive trials in farmers’ fields.
Conclusions
The productivity of rice is strongly influenced
by the hydrological conditions prevailing in the
area, particularly in the growing season. These
hydrological influences, according to Borkakati
et al (2000), can be mitigated considerably if
crop management strategies are developed
on the basis of knowledge of environmental
conditions. Likewise, other appropriate
technologies can be developed using such
knowledge and can easily be applied by farmers
in various rainfed situations.
Farmers showed positive feedback on
participatory experiments in different types of
stress environments and associated crop and
water management technologies conducted in
53
their fields. However, with the presence of these
technologies to address the problems faced by
farmers, the following concerns still require
further attention.
1. A need for strong interaction among
biological and social scientists in problem-
oriented research, as well as among
nongovernment and private organizations
in cooperation with various research
institutions to develop more effective
approaches of impact-oriented agricultural
research to help farmers explore the
maximum possibilities to increase their
productivity.
2. The use of community participatory
approaches from design, planning,
validation of technologies, and
dissemination such that farmers will be
actively involved from the very beginning to
intensify their receptivity for adoption.
3. A need to enhance the capacities of both
men and women in rice production and
improve seed management.
4. A need to anticipate and address constraints
to the widespread adoption of technologies
such as increasing government support
for public investment in infrastructure
(i.e., good roads, good-quality drainage
and irrigation, and construction of small
ditches) and increased and regular extension
services on farms to encourage farmers
to continue their production and become
responsive to technology developments.
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Notes
Authors’ addresses: T. Paris and A.D. Cueno,
Social Sciences Division, International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI), DAPO Box 7777,
Metro Manila, Philippines; A. Singh, Narendra
Deva University of Agriculture and Technology
(NDUAT), Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.