EFFECT OF SOWING METHOD AND SEED RATE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF HIGH-YIELDING VARIETIES OF RICE (ORYZA-SATIVA)

An experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) seasons of 1989 and 1990 to study the effect of 2 methods of sowing (direct seeding an d transplanting) and 2 seed rates (normal and 25% more than normal) on performance of 3 varieties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) at Pusa. Transpl anted rice proved better than direct-sown crop irrespective of seed ra tes. Similar trend was observed for production/day/ha also. Among the varieties, 'Radha' showed superiority to rest of the varieties ('Saket 4' and 'Sujata') tested. The production/day/ha was the highest in sho rt-duration crop compared with long-duration crop. The duration of the crop was reduced by about 7 days in direct-sown crop compared with tr ansplanted one. Transplanting gave higher monetary returns than direct seeding, while both the methods were almost similar in cost : benefit ratio.