Rice Cultivation by Direct Seeding into Untilled Dry Paddy Stubble

—Proposal of a New Seeding Method and Germination Rate with That—

Abstract

We propose direct seeding into the previous year's stubbles as a labor-saving rice cultivation method in untilled dry paddy fields. The effectiveness of this method was determined by conducting a seeding experiment. Three seeding holes at depths of 20 or 40 mm were bored per stubble, and 4 or 7 seeds were sown per stubble. Four sets of experiments were designed with different combinations of seeding depth and seeding number, and each set of conditions was replicated 3 times. Germination rate and stubble width were determined 1 month after seeding. Our results suggest that seeding in stubbles may be effective in preventing bird damage typically noted in shallow seeding but that deep seeding restricts seedling growth through shielding of sunlight.