Dry Direct Seeding Techniques for a Tropical Double Cropping System

Abstract

To establish dry direct seeding rice cultivation techniques that can be implemented in the double cropping area of Kyushu, Japan, the following steps were undertaken: development of a technique to prevent water leakage from dry direct seeding fields using a compaction roller; construction of dry direct seeding cultivation system with roller compaction; and development of a ridging direct seeder with water leak prevention function and wet damage avoidance function. Based on the observed results, the following were confirmed: in the gray lowland soil field, the developed three-point link type roller can effectively prevent water leakage under conditions of high moisture content more than the plastic limit; during the dry direct seeding of paddy fields after barley production, leakage can be prevented by compaction using the vibratory roller, thereby ensuring stable cultivation; and, the developed ridging direct sowing seeder requires lesser power even under high moisture conditions, and the labor saving and cost effective nature of this machine was verified in the field verification test.