Seedling establishment and yield of direct-seeded rice under

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of different seeding depths on growth and yield of direct-seeded rice. A greenhouse experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Farm at Khon Kaen University in 2003. The experiment was a 3 x 5 factorial in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The two factors were seeding depth ( 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 cm) and rice cultivar (three cultivars: RD 6, RD 15 and KDML 105). The results showed that seeding depth significantly affects the percentage of seedling emergence and root dry weight at 15 days after seeding (DAS), but does not significantly affect grain yield. However, planting at 6 cm seeding depth tends to give the highest seed yield. Rice cultivar significantly affects the percentage of seedling emergence and root dry weight at 15 DAS. Using cultivar RD6 gives a higher percentage of seedling emergence and root dry weight at 15 DAS than with RD15 and KDML 105. There is no significant difference in seed yield among the three rice cultivars, but RD 6 generally gives the highest seed yield.