Direct paddy sowing reaps benefits

Rice growers generally use much more water than the crop actually needs. Estimates show that 40-45 per cent of the water used for irrigation goes to paddy alone. This, perhaps, is the result of the mistaken belief that paddy is an aquatic plant that needs standing water to thrive. The truth, however, is that though rice plants can survive in waterlogged fields, they do not necessarily need flooding all the time.

The key advantage of constant submergence is that it keeps weeds under check. But its disadvantages are many and far more serious. It causes loss of applied plant nutrients due