Can rice be transplanted without puddling?
Puddling disperse the soils such as increase bulk density of surface layers, conducive for reduced recharge of aquifer and creating ponded water conditions. Puddling helps in control of weeds and facilitates easy transplanting. On the other hand it deteriorates the soil physical properties, leads to more cracking which makes puddling effects only short-lived. On the whole puddling in rice season and tillage in wheat are counter productive practices. Puddling should preferably be avoided as it is unfavorable practice for the succeeding upland crops. Rice seeding can be transplanted in no-till system in the slits opened with ZT machine followed by an irrigation. Transplanting of rice in unpuddled soils do not change agronomic and crop management practices significantly for getting the higher rice yield..
