PADDY
- Recommended rice varieties are Shalimar Rice-1 and Shalimar Rice-3 are blast tolerant varieties recommended for areas below an altitude of 1650 meters above mean sea level. Shalimar Rice- 4 variety is recommended up to an altitude of 1700 meters above mean sea level. Shalimar Rice-2 variety is recommended for low lying and waterlogged areas. K-332 and Shalimar Rice-5 varieties are cold tolerant rice varieties suitable for higher belts of an altitude above 2000 meters.
- Rice seed should be procured from a reliable source such as: Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops
- Normal sowing time in the Valley extends from 3rd week of April to second week of May
- A well-drained area of 1/2 of the area to be transplanted is selected for nursery
- Plough the nursery area 2-3 times and puddle it in 2-3 cm of water. The nursery beds should be 1.0- 1.5 meters in width and of any convenient length
- Seed should be sown at seed rate of 3 kg per kanal for transplanted rice in lower belts and 4 kg per kanal for higher belts of the valley
- Pre-sowing treatment by overnight soaking of seeds in 0.06% suspension of Tricyclazole 75 WP or 0.1 % Carbendazim 50WP is highly recommended
- Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours and incubate for 36 to 48 hours. Seeds should not be over-sprouted. Length of the sprout shall be less than the length of grain itself
- Apply 1.5-2 kg well decomposed farmyard manure plus 0.5 kg of ash/m of nursery area for better growth of seedling and building soil quality.
- Broadcast pre-germinated seeds uniformly in seed bed and maintain 2-3cm of water till pre-germinated seeds are established in the bed
- In case any disease symptom is observed in nursery, spray with Tricyclazole 75WP @ 0.06% (0.6g per liter water).
- One or two drainage periods of 12-24 hours are beneficial during first few days of nursery establishment
- Protected nursery under a polythene tunnel is recommended when night temperature falls below 10C. Remove the polythene cover during sunny days
- Apply 250g Urea per marla as top dose ten days before uprooting the nursery.
- The transplanting should be completed between last week of May to second week of June when the rice seedling is 28-30 days old. Any delay in transplanting beyond this date results in a significant yield decline