Effects of No-tillage Dry-seeding on Rice Growth and Soil Hardness

No-tillage dry-seeding of rice can offer potential benefits by reducing time and labor cost compared with conventional tillage practices. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of no-tillage dry-seeding on rice growth and soil hardness in comparison with other rice cultivation methods, machine transplanting and wet-hill-seeding on puddled paddy. The seedling stand fell within optimum range for both no-till dry-seeding and wet-hill-seeding on puddled paddy. Plant height, number of tillers and SPAD values in no-tillage dry-seeding cultivation were higher than those observed in other methods. There were no significant differences in grain yield of rice among three cultivation methods. The quality characteristics of milled rice grown in no-tillage dry-seeding were similar to those grown in other cultivation methods. Soil hardness in top 10 cm depth was significantly higher in no-tillage dry-seeding than other cultivation methods, while soil hardness below 10 cm depth was highest in machine transplanting cultivation. Results indicate that no-tillage dry-seeding practice is comparable to conventional tillage system in terms of seedling establishment, growth, yield and grain quality.