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Cropping Intensification in Rainfed Lowland Rice System: a Case Study

Abul Fazal M. Saleh
Soil & Water Sciences Division, IRRI, P.O. Box 933, 1099 Manila, Philippines

Sadiqul I. Bhuiyan
Soil & Water Sciences Division, IRRI, P.O. Box 933, 1099 Manila, Philippines

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Field measurements and farmer surveys were conducted during the 1991-92 dry season in a rainfed lowland rice growing area, to establish the present status of and constraints to growing upland crops after the wet season rice. The study showed that, a post rice crop was grown by only about 33% of the farmers and 89% of the crop grown was mungbean. Local varieties of mungbean were preferred as a post rice crop because of their drought tolerance, low input requirement, low management level and early maturity. It was grown by the farmers in only about 23% of their available land and on light textured soils with medium intensity of tillage. The seeding rate was very low and no fertilizer or irrigation was provided, although pesticides were widely used. The average crop water use during the season was 106 mm. The present yield of 0.33 t/ha is much below the potential, but it still gave a net return of Tk.10,842 /ha and a 1.75:1 return above cash cost. The two important constraints to further intensification of mungbean after wet season rice were, crop damage by stray animals and difficulty of timely tillage in heavy soil areas.

Keywords: Rainfed, Rice, Lowland rice, Irrigation

Location:

Start Date: 00-10-1991

End Date: 00-02-1992

Program Area: Farming System

Commodity: Rice, Mungbean

Objectives:

To assess the present status of cropping intensity in rainfed low land rice system, and
To identify the constraints in further crop intensification.

Methodology:

The study was conducted in the post-rice season of 1991-92 (October- February), and in two phases, for both qualitative and quantitative understanding of the intensification process. For the qualitative understanding of the present cropping practices, crop management techniques and constraints to further cropping intensification, a questionnaire survey was administered on 50 randomly selected farmers (with and without a post rice crop). The survey data were also used for quantitative analysis of the costs and benefits of post rice crop. For the quantitative assessments of the field water status, crop water use and crop phenology, 12 randomly selected farms with a post rice crop were closely monitored. Soil moisture contents at depths of 10 and 30 cm were measured every 10 days for quantifying the total soil moisture depletion during the season. The depths were selected based on a study by Herrera et. aI, (1983) that, for mungbean grown in dry regime, 72% and 87% of the root densities are within the top 20 and 40 cm of the rootzone. The crop water use was estimated by adding the depleted soil moisture to the total incident rainfall (all incident rainfalls during the dry season were considered as effective) by using the following equation (Hamblin and Tennant, 1987): U = ([S₁ + P] - S₂), where U is the crop water use, S₁ and S₂ are the soil moisture storage values for maximum root depth at planting time and at harvest respectively and P is the total rainfall. At present, only about 33% of the farmers of the study area grow a post rice crop after the wet season. On the average, farmers with a post rice crop grow it on only about 23% of their available land. About 89% of the total post rice crop area was under mungbean. Mungbean is planted immediately after the harvest of wet season rice, which is usually in the latter half of October. The average turnaround time during the study period was 3.8 days and varied from 2 to 7 days (some farmers had a longer turnaround time because of delay in availability of rice threshers). Mungbean was grown without any irrigation and without application of any fertilizer. The crop water requirement was met entirely from the residual soil moisture and any incident rainfall during the season. The estimated average crop water use during the study period was 106 mm, out of which, about 66 mm was provided from the residual soil moisture and about 40 mm came from rainfall. The difficulty in tilling the soil at the beginning of the post rice season has been experienced mostly in the fields with a heavier soil (silty clay-clay).

Source of Information: Proceedings of the International Agricultural Engineering Conference, Bangkok. Thailand, 7-10, December 1992

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Little prospects remain in increasing the yield level with the present crop management practices, as only about 53% of the crop water requirement could be satisfied from rainfall and residual soil moisture in a normal year. Further, crop intensification in the study area had been constrained mainly because of the fear of possible crop damage by stray animals and difficulty of tilling the land in areas with heavier soil after the harvest of the wet season rice. Mungbean would continue to grow in the study area under water stress condition with low yield, unless provisions are made for irrigation.

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings