Rainfed rice - IRRI books - International Rice Research Institute

RAINFED RICE A SOURCEBOOK OF BEST PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES IN EASTERN INDIA
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Slopy sump type
The water is used to raise fish in the
deeper side of the field where water
gets collected.
Corner sump type
Trenches are dug in the corners of
the field and rice is grown in the rest
of the field. The trenches cover 10%
of the total field.
The sumps are normally 1 m deep. Remove the silt from the bottom of the
sump each year to maintain its depth.
Managing a rice crop
1. Select a rice variety which has good elongation ability, a strong stem and
tolerance for insect pests, such as Tall Mahsuri, Jal Lahri, Jal Priya, etc.
2. Transplant kharif rice in June/July. Before transplanting, add 10 t/ha
farmyard manure and 60 kg/ha each of nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium.
3. Transplant rice seedlings at a distance of 20 cm x 20 cm.
Choice of fish species
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is the
best suited species for this system. This
fish breeds prior to the monsoon season,
so fingerlings are the desired size for
stocking by June/July. This hardy fish also
tolerates high turbidity.
Fish management
1. Select fish species which thrive in
shallow water, tolerate high
turbidity and high temperature
and grow fast. Indian major carp
(catla and rohu) and common carp
are suitable species.
2. Stock the fish (release fingerlings
in the field) when rice plants
attain a greenish color.
3. Use 8-10-cm-long fingerlings to
avoid mortality. Use about 5,000
to 6,000 fingerlings/ha.
4. Proper feeding of stock-fish is
important. Feed them with a
mixture of rice bran/rice polish
and mustard cake/groundnut
cake or soybean meal (1:1) in
dough-like balls. Feed at 2-3% of
the average body weight of the
fish.