Journal of Researches in Mechanics of Agricultural Machinery

Journal of Researches in Mechanics of Agricultural Machinery

Technical and economic evaluation of different rice direct seeding methods in Khuzestan province

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Jafar Habibi Asl 1
Elyas Dehghan 2
1 Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Khuzestan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Ahvaz, Iran
2 Farm Power an Machinery Department, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Karaj, Iran
10.22034/JRMAM.2025.14886.715
Abstract
Abstract
One of the methods for reducing water consumption in rice production in certain regions is the direct seeding of rice in the main field (dry seeding). This study was conducted to compare dry-seeded rice with the conventional method and to select an appropriate dry-seeding method for rice cultivation in Khuzestan Province. To this end, four planting methods—including seeding on a flat bed using a grain drill, seeding on ridges using a furrow–ridge grain planter, hill seeding on ridges, and conventional transplanting with continuous flood irrigation (control)—were compared in terms of agronomic, technical, and economic indices as well as irrigation water volume. The experiment was carried out as a split-plot design within a randomized complete block design with three replications. In each planting method, three rice cultivars—Champa, Anburi, and Havazi—were planted. The results of the technical indices showed that the time required for puddling in the control treatment and for seedbed preparation in the flat-bed, ridge, and hill-seeding methods was 256.9, 1.20, 1.68, and 1.37 h ha⁻¹, respectively. In terms of agronomic indices, no significant differences were observed among cultivars and planting methods. The irrigation water volume in the conventional transplanting method with continuous flood irrigation was 35,221 m³ ha⁻¹, whereas in the dry-seeding methods with an alternate irrigation interval of four days, this parameter decreased by 34%, 49%, and 49%, respectively, compared with the control. Water productivity was 0.10 kg m⁻³ for conventional transplanting with continuous flood irrigation, and for the dry-seeding treatments with alternate irrigation it reached 0.15, 0.23, and 0.20 kg m⁻³, respectively. Economic comparison of the different planting methods also showed that for rice production in Khuzestan, the use of the Havazi cultivar with hill dry seeding on ridges was the best option, owing to the highest net income of 19,642,981 tomans per hectare (4.9 times higher than the conventional transplanting method), the highest benefit–cost ratio of 2.62, and the lowest irrigation water volume of 17,800 m³ ha⁻¹ (50% lower than the control).
Introduction
Climatic, economic, political, and social changes in the world as well as in Iran have caused changes in the conditions governing the production and processing of agricultural products, and in some cases have caused conventional methods and technologies to fail to meet the needs of society and producers in the country's agricultural sector. In recent years, the occurrence of drought and the increasing shortage of water resources for agriculture have caused rice cultivation to be banned or face various restrictions in other regions of the country, except in the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran. In such circumstances, in order to issue permits for planting rice in various regions (except Gilan and Mazandaran), finding methods and technologies that can produce rice with less water consumption has been put on the agenda of the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad. Conventional rice planting method (CRP) includes transplanting in poddled soil with permanent flood irrigation method. This method consumes a lot of water, energy and labor. In recent years, despite the lack of irrigation water and restrictions in most rice-rich areas of the country, the area under rice cultivation has increased due to high economic income. One of the ways to reduce water consumption in rice production is direct sowing of seeds in dry-bed conditions in the main land.
Material and Methods  
This study was conducted to select a suitable method for rice dirrect seeding in dry-bed condition (RDD) in Khuzestan province in a split plots experiment in the form of randomized complete block design with three replications. Four planting methods include: RDD in flat bed with grain drill machine (P1), RDD on the ridge bed (P2), RDD on the ridge bed with hill-drop seeding (P3), and CRP or control (P4) in terms ofindex Economic, technical, crop yield and water consumption were compared. in all treatments, Champa, Anboury and Aerobic rice cultivars were cultivated. Irrigation method was intermittent in RDD treatments and permanent flooding in control treatment (P4). Seed consumption per hectare of main land in P1 and P2 was 100 kg.ha-1, in P3 it was equal to 5 seeds per hill and For P4 (control) was 40 kg.ha-1. The indicators measured in this study were the time required for planting operations per unit area (including land preparation and planting), field capacity of the seeder, water quantity and productivity, number of sprouted plants per square meter, percentage of seed germination, plant height, number of spikes per square meter, number of grains per spike, harvest index, thousand-grain weight, rice yield, and production costs.
Results and Discussion   
The results of this study showed that there was a significant difference in the time required for the planting operation between the different methods.From the perspective of the field capacity index, although there was a significant difference between the averages of the three dry-land cultivation methods, the difference between the average field capacity of each of them and the conventional transplanting method was extremely large. Statistical analysis of seed germination percentage showed that in terms of this indicator, the difference between the planting methods studied was significant at the one percent level, but the difference between the cultivar levels and the difference in the levels of interaction between cultivar and planting method was not significant. The highest percentage of seed germination, 93%, was obtained in the dry-cultivation method of seed heaping on a ridge. Analysis of variance of the data showed that there was no significant difference in terms of grain yield per unit area between the levels of the independent variables of cultivar type, planting method, and the interaction effect of cultivar and planting method. The results showed that the highest water consumption was related to the transplanting method with an amount of 35220 cubic meters per hectare. Also, the methods of dry tillage, ridge and mounding had the lowest water consumption with 17850 and 17800 cubic meters per hectare, respectively. The water consumption of the dry tillage method was measured at 23140 cubic meters per hectare. The results of the economic evaluation showed that in Khuzestan province, for the production of Champa rice, the method of dry planting on ridges and intermittent irrigation had the highest income-to-cost ratio of 2.47.
Conclusions
Direct dry seeding of rice seeds in the main field instead of the conventional transplanting method reduces water consumption and maintains or increases economic production indicators, reduces the time required for planting, and facilitates the production of this important and strategic crop. For rice production in Khuzestan, using an aerobic variety with the dry-cultivation method of hilling on raised bed was identified as the best option with the highest net economic income, the highest income-to-cost ratio, and the lowest volume of irrigation water. After that, Champa variety dry seeded on by seed drill on raised bed along with intermittent irrigation is recommended. To plant the Anbouri variety, it is recommended to use hilling on raised bed method and intermittent irrigation.
Author Contributions
The manner and extent of the authors' participation in conducting this research are as follows:
First author: Jafar Habibi Asl, which was responsible for implementing the treatments, collecting data, analyzing it, and writing part of the article.
Second author: Elyas Dehghan, which Part of the analysis and writing of the article was with him.  

Data Availability Statement
All information and results are presented in the article text.
Ethical Considerations
The authors have observed ethical principles in conducting and publishing this article, and this is confirmed by all of them.
Keywords
Khuzestan
rice
planting method
dry-bed direct seeding
economic evaluation

Subjects

Abbasi, F., Naseri, A., Sohrab, F. Baghani, J. Abbasi, N. & Akbari, M. (2015). Water productivity improvement. Final Research Report. Agricultural engineering Research institute, Agriculture Research, Education and Extension Organization. 68 p. (In Persian).
Ali, R. I., Awan, T. H., Manzoor, Z., Ashraf, M. M., Safdar, M. E. & Ahmad, M. (2007). Screening of rice varieties suitable for direct seeding in Punjab. J. Anim. Pl. Sci. 17(1-2), 24-26.
Asadi, H. & Zamanian, M. (2007). Economic evaluation of date and rate of seeding of Iranian clover in mechanized and traditional planting methods. Journal of Research and Construction in Agriculture and Horticulture, 74, 47-55. (in Persian).
Balasubramanian, V. & Hill, J. E., (2002). Direct seeding of rice in Asia: emerging issues and strategic research needs for the 21st century. In: Pandey, S., Mortimer, M., Wade, L., Tuong, T.P., Lopez, K., Hardy, B. (Eds.), Direct Seeding: Research Strategies and Opportunities. International Rice Research Institute. Los Banos. Philippines. pp.15–42.
Bhushan, L., Ladha, J. K., Gupta, R. K., Singh, S., Tirol-Padre, A., Saharawat, Y. S., Gathala, M. & Pathak, H. (2007). Saving of water and labor in a rice–wheat system with no-tillage and direct seeding technologies. Agronomy Journal, 99, 1288–1296.
Bouaziz, A. & H. Chekli. (1999). Wheat yield and water use as affected by micro-basins and weed control on the sloping lands of Morocco. J. Crop Prod,. 2, 335–351.
Chauhan, B. S. (2012). Weed ecology and weed management strategies for dry-seeded rice in Asia.Weed Technology., 26, 1–13.
Chidzi, A. (2000). Research in farm management for developing of small farmers. First edition. Azad Islamic University publications. Garmsar unit. (in Persian).
Dehghan, E. & Almasi, M. (2004). Evaluation of effect of different tillage methods on energy consumption, yield and yield component in direct seeding rice varieties in Khuzestan. Master of Agriculture Masters Thesis. Mechanization. Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran. 132 p. (in Persian).
Dehghan, E. Sheikh Davudi, M. J., Zaki Dizaji, H. & Gilani, A. A. (2016). Manufacturing and evaluating of rice seed-meter mechanism for direct hill planting. PhD thesis of Agriculture Mechanization. Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran. 146 p. (in Persian).
Ehsanullah, A. N., Jabran, K. & Habib, T. (2007). Comparison of different planting methods for optimization of plant population of rice in Punjab. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 44, pp. 597-99.
Fahong, W., Xuqing, W. & Sayre, K. D. (2004). Comparison of conventional, flood irrigated, flat planting with furrow irrigated, raised bed planting for winter wheat in China. Field Crops Research, 87, 35–42.
FAO. (2010). AQUASTAT – FAO’s global information system on water and agriculture, FAO, http://www.fao.org/nr/aquastat, Rome, Italy.
Farooq M., Kadambot H. Siddique, M., Rehman, H., Aziz, T., Lee, D. J. & Wahid, A. (2011). Rice direct seeding: Experiences, challenges and opportunities. Soil & Tillage Research, 111, 87-98.
Farooq, M., Basra, S. M. A. & Wahid, A. (2006). Priming of field-sown rice seed enhances germination, seedling establishment, allometry and yield. Plant Growth Regulation, 49, 285–294.
Feiz Bakhsh, M. T. & Pahlevan Rad, M. R. (2020). Evaluation of planting date and humic acid effects on yield and yield components of direct seeded rice. Final report of the Research Project. Rice Research Institute of Iran. 21 p. (in Persian).
Gao, X. P., Zou, C. Q., Fan, X. Y., Zhang, F. S. & Hoffland, E. (2006). From flooded to aerobic conditions in rice cultivation: consequences for zinc uptake. Plant Soil, 280, 41-47.
Gilani, A. A. & Absalan, S. (2015). Comparison of direct seeding with common methods of rice cultivation in terms of water consumption. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization. Khuzestan Agriculture and Natural Resource Research and Education Center. 22 p. (in Persian).
Gilani, A. A. & Kariminejhad, J. (2008). Rice direct seeding. Extension Report, Khuzestan Agricultural Jihad Extension Management. No. 198, 29 p. (in Persian).
Gilani, A. A. (2006) (1). Comparison of two seed drills with different seeding rate in rice direct seedind. National Research Program, National Research Council. No. 841411, 25 p. (in Persian).
Gilani, A. A. (2006). Investigating new rice varieties in the testing of advanced preliminary performance in Khuzestan province. Final Project report, National Research Program, National Research Council. No. 841414, 19 p. (in Persian).
Habib Asl, J. & Dehghan. E. (2012). Evaluation of technical and yield parameters of wheat seeding methods with different seeding rates in south Khuzestan. Journal of Aricultural Machinery Engineering. 1(2), 46-57. (In Persian).
Habibi Asl, J., Loveimi, N. & Gilani, A. A. (2009). Investigating and comparing three mechanized direct seeding methods of different rice varieties in Khuzestan. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 10(1), 81-96. (in Persian).
Hoseini Monfared, R., Safarpur Shurbakhanlu, M., Moradi, M. & Negahdari, M. 2012. Comparing of rice transplanting with different direct seeding methods. First National Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Healthy Environment. Azad Islamic university of Hamadan. March 2012. Hamadan, Iran. (in Persian).
Jehangir, W. A., Masih, I., Ahmed, S., Gill, M. A., Ahmad, M., Mann, R. A., Chaudhary, M. R. & Turral, H. (2005). Sustaining crop water productivity in rice–wheat systems of South Asia: a case study from Punjab Pakistan. In: Draft Working Paper, International. Water Managment Institute. Lahore. Pakistan.
John, I., Mathew, G. & Mathew, J. (2002). Comparison between transplanting and direct seeding methods for crop establishment in rice. Journal of tropical agriculture. 40, 65-66.
Karayel, D. & Ozmerzi, A. (2004). Effect of Forward Speed on Hill Dropping Uniformity of a Precision Vacuum Seeder. HartTechnology, 14(3), 364-367.
Karbalayi, M.T., Aghebat, S., Rahim Pur, A. & Hoseinian, S. (2006). Evaluation of direct seeding (in both dry and wet bed) of rice varieties and compared with transplanting method in Mazandaran province. The 9th Congress of Agriculture and Plant breeding, Karaj, Institute of Research for Seed and plant breeding. (In Persian).
Khan, A. U. & El-Sahrigi, A. F. (1990). Selective mechanization of rice farming system in tropical Asia. Agricultural Engineering, 14(3,4), 40-52.
Kiani, A. & Razaghi, M. H. (2019). The effectiveness of direct rice cultivation on water yield and efficiency in Golestan province paddy fields. Technical Report, Agricultural Information and Notices Technology Center. (in Persian).
Kiani, A. & Yazdani, M. R. (2021). Investigating of rice direct seeding and transplanting methods on water consumption in different irrigation methods in Golestan province. Final Research Project Report. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization. Agricultural Engineering Research Institute. No. 60275, 47 p. (in Persian).
Kirk, G.J.D. & Bajita, J.B. (1995). Root induced iron oxidation, pH changes and zinc solubilization in the rhizosphere of lowland rice. New Phytol, 131, 129–137.
Lak, SH., Gohari, M., Khayat, M. V. & Soltanzadeh, M. (2009). Effect of number of seeds per hill in direct seeding of rice on reservoir restraint and rice varieties yield in Khuzestan province. National Conference on Water, Soil, Plants and Agricultural Mechanization. March 2009, Islamic Azad University, Dezful, Iran. (In Persian).
Limon-Ortega, A., Sayre, K. D. & Francis, C. A. (2000). Wheat nitrogen use efficiency in a bed-planting system in northwest Mexico. Agron. J., 92, 303–308.
Mahajan, G., Chauhan, B. S. & Gill, M. S. (2013). Dry-seeded rice culture in Punjab State of India: Lessons learned from farmers. Field Crops Research, 144, 89-99.
Management and planning organization of Khuzestan province (MPO-Kh). (2019). Khuzestan province land survey document. Khuzestan Governorate, Ahwaz, Iran. (In Persian).
McDonald, M. B. (1998). Seed quality assessment. Seed Science Research, 8, 265–275.
Nasseri, A., Abbasi, F. & Akbari, M. (2017). Estimating Agricultural Water Consumption by Analyzing Water Balance. Irrigation and Drainage Structures Engineering Research, 18(68), 17-32. (In Persian).
Norwood, C.A. & T.J. Dumler. (2002). Transition to dryland agriculture: limited irrigation vs. dryland corn. Agron. J., 94, 310–320.
Pandey, S. & Velasco, L. (2005). Trends in crop establishment methods in Asia and research issues. In: Rice is Life: Scientific Perspectives for the 21st Century, Proceedings of the World Rice Research Conference. 4–7 November 2004, Tsukuba, Japan. pp. 178–181.
Ramazani, A. & Mahloji, M. (2023). Effects of irrigation management on yield and water productivity of rice in different planting methods. Journal of Crop Science Research in Arid Regions, 5(1), 241-251. (In Persian).
Sayre, K.D. & Moreno Ramos, O.H. (1997). Applications of raised bed-planting system to wheat. Wheat Program Special Report, CIMMYT, Mexico.
Singh, Y., Singh, G., Johnson, D. & Mortimer, M. (2005). Changing from transplanted rice to direct seeding in the rice–wheat cropping system in India. In: Rice is Life: Scientific Perspectives for the 21st Century. Tsukuba. Japan: Proceedings of the World Rice Research Conference. 4–7 November 2004. pp. 198–201.
Tavakoli, A. (2011). Evaluation of one pass irrigation management economic productivity index for two varieties of dry wheat (case study: Maragheh). Journal of Water and Irrigation Management, 1(2), 17-29. (In Persian).
Thakur, A. K., Roychowdury, S., Kudnu, D.K. & Singh, R. (2004). Evaluation of planting methods in irrigated rice. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 50, 631–640.
Unger, P. W. & Howell, T. A. (1999). Agricultural water conservation—a global perspective. J. Crop Prod., 2, 1–36.
Wu, Y., He, P. X., Shui, G. C., Xun, S. J., Liang, S. & Gen, K.W. (2008). A study on suitable sowing date and sowing rate of a new late japonica hybrid rice combination Bayou 52 in no-tillage and direct seeding cultivation. Hybrid Rice, 23, 48–50.
Xiao-rong, L.U., Xiao-lian, L.U. & Wen-tao, R. (2010). Experimental Study on Working Performance of Rice Rope Direct Seeding Machine. Agricultural Sciences in China, 9(2), 275-279.
Xuemei S., Shiyao, X., Yan, H. & Yuanyuan, S. (2020). Comparative Study on ‎Different Planting Patterns in Coldterra Japonica Rice Irrigated Areas. IOP Conf. Series: ‎Earth and Environmental Science, 615 (2020) 012005.
Yan, R., Jia, C. & Zhang, Z. (2015). Experiment Study of Water Consumption Regularity and Water Use Efficiency of Rice in Black Soil and Chernozem. Water Saving Irrigation, 11, 37-43.