Effect of Transplanting on Rice in Northwestern Ethiopia

Rice transplanting experiment was conducted for two years in Fogera plain, northwestern Ethiopia, so as to give transplanting recommendation for rain-fed lowland rice production system. Two varieties (X-Jigna and Gummara /IAC-164/), two seedling stages (2nd and 4th leaf stages, two spacings (25 cm x 20 cm and 25 cm x 25 cm) and two number of seedlings (2 and 3 plants/hill) were factorially combined and tested in randomized complete block designs with three replications. Besides, dry broadcast sowing of the two varieties was used as control treatment. The comparison of transplanting with dry seed sowing showed that the former outsmarted the latter in yield and other yield components. Transplanting gave an average grain yield of 4140.8 kg ha-1 while dry sowing had an average yield of 3008.1 kg ha-1. Transplanting was observed to have a grain yield advantage of 1132.7 kg ha-1(37.7%) over dry sowing. Concerning the other yield components, transplanting gave higher number of tillers/ hill and higher number of fertile panicles/hill as compared to dry seeding. The economic analysis showed that transplanting was advantageous over dry sowing. The different transplanting methods gave net benefit of Birr 7796 to Birr 9454. Compared to the lowest net benefit obtained from dry seed sowing, a maximum increase in net benefit of Birr 1934 was obtained because of transplanting. From this experiment it is recommended that in northwestern Ethiopia and other similar agro ecologies, rice seedlings should be transplanted at 4 leaf stages with a spacing of 25 cm x 20 cm by planting 3 seedlings per hill.Keywords: Dry seeding; Plants per hill; Seedling age, Transplanting