Abstract:
Rice is the staple food for Sri Lankan people. Annual production of rice in Sri Lanka needs to be
increased to feed the growing population and to maintain the self-sufficiency. Expanding the area
under rice cultivation will not be possible in near future. Therefore, additional rice production has to
come from increasing the productivity of grains. Choosing the best rice establishment method for
higher yield and higher economic return is one of the ways to increase the productivity of land. A
study was conducted at farmers’ field in 1.7 ha of land during Yala season 2024, to evaluate the effect
of different planting methods (Dry seeding, Wet seeding, Seedlings broadcasting and Machine
transplanting) on growth and yield performance of rice variety Bg 366. The experiment was laid out
in RCBD with three replicates, and data were analyzed by using ANCOVA to enhance the accuracy
of results due to large size experimental units. Data on plant growth and yield parameters were
collected as plant height, flag leaf area, chlorophyll content of flag leaf, days taken to maturity,
number of productive tillers m-2, weight of panicle, number of filled grains panicle-1, 1000 grain
weight and grain yield. Cost of production and net income also were calculated for each planting
method. Considering the growth parameters, higher plant height, higher chlorophyll content, higher
flag leaf area were observed in both machine transplanting and seedlings broadcasting compared to
direct seeding methods. Results showed that grain yield and net income were significantly higher in
seedlings broadcasting method (6.84 t ha-1, Rs.241 700 ha-1 respectively) followed by Machine
transplanting (5.81 t ha-1, Rs.194 400 ha-1respectively).This may be due to the quick establishment of
seedlings with soil ball and production of the highest number of effective tillers in seedlings
broadcasting method. Findings suggest that both seedlings broadcasting and machine transplanting
were found to be most productive and economically viable methods of rice establishment than direct
seeding.
