Direct Seeded Rice: Strategies to Improve Crop Resilience and Food Security under Adverse Climatic Conditions

Abstract

Direct seeded rice (DSR) systems have been considered a sustainable strategy for sustainable rice (Oryza sativa L.) production and resilience under adverse climatic conditions. Providing essential nutrition for more than 50% of the global population, there has been a significant decline in rice productivity due to climate change. The results suggest that an adoption of DSR options, without raising rice nursery, improved rice productivity and time saving. A rice field experiment in the kharif season of 2021 was examined to identify the best crop establishment method. A comparison study of the direct seeded rice crop establishment method and the mechanical transplanting of rice crop establishment method was investigated to improve rice productivity. The results show that significantly higher (+10%) rice productivity was registered in the DSR option compared with mechanically transplanted rice. In this case, growth attributes, effective tillers (+37%), panicle length (+8%), the number of grains per panicle (+21%), and 1000-grain weight (+2%) were significantly higher in the DSR option compared with mechanically transplanted rice. It was observed that, after the third extreme rainfall, 100% of the mechanically transplanted rice crop was lodged, compared with only 25% of the DSR option. Overall, the results suggest that an adoption of DSR options significantly improved rice productivity and rice resilience, while offering the additional benefit of advancing the seeding of succeeding crops by 15 days compared with the mechanically transplanted rice system. Our study suggests that the adoption of the DSR option would sustain food security and crop resilience under adverse climatic conditions.