The Agriculture Information Service (AIS) has advised farmers on how much water to keep in boro rice fields at each stage. The organisation says the rice plant is not an aquatic plant, although it likes plenty of water, so fields should not be kept flooded to the brim all the time.

Too much water spreads fungal diseases and pathogens, holds back plant growth, makes flowers or grains drop and leaves the grain poorly filled. In the end the yield falls.

On the other hand, the AIS says, too little water disrupts the uptake and movement of nutrients and the making of food, can kill the plant, delays flowering, encourages weeds and also leaves the grain poorly filled, again cutting the yield.

The AIS gives these levels:

• At transplanting: a shallow 1 to 1.5 inches of water. More or less makes planting difficult.
• From transplanting to the next 10 days: 1.5 to 2 inches. With less water the seedlings take longer to recover from transplanting shock; with more, they lodge.
• From 11 days after transplanting until the panicle begins to form: 1 to 1.5 inches. More or less means fewer tillers.
• From the young panicle stage to flowering: 2 to 4 inches. A shortage of moisture now means poorly formed grain and fewer grains, while too much water can weaken the plants.
• When the grain reaches the hard dough stage, that is, until 10 to 12 days before harvest, drain the water out gradually.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.