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