1. Crop Establishment Key Check 4: Sufficient Number of Healthy Seedlings Part 1: Understanding the PalayCheck System

2. A good house requires good building materials; a good- yielding field requires healthy seedlings as planting materials.

4. What are healthy seedlings?  have uniform height and growth  have short leaf sheaths  have long/heavy roots  no pests and diseases

5. increased potential for higher yield produce sufficient productive tillers with big panicles can avail of sufficient sunlight and soil nutrients higher survival rate can easily recover from transplanting shock HEALTHY SEEDLINGS produce good canopy have good root system compete better with weeds

6. Assessment of Key Check 4 Transplanted rice (TPR) Followed the recommended seeding rate of 20 to 40 kg/ha for inbred and 15 to 20 kg for hybrid. Replanted missing hills within 7 days after transplanting (DAT). Assessed the hill density and health status of seedlings at 10 DAT.

7. 1.Randomly select 3 sampling locations at least 1 m from the levee and in a diagonal line across the field. 2.Count the hills from each location using a 1 m x 1 m quadrat. How to assess the health status of seedlings? Transplanted rice (TPR) 1 m

8. 3.Add the counts and divide by 3 to get the average number of hills/m 2. There should be at least 25 hills/m 2. How to assess the health status of seedlings? Transplanted rice (TPR) 4. In every parcel, randomly select 10 hills. Each hill should have at least 1 healthy seedling. 1 m

9. Direct wet-seeded rice (DWSR) Assessment of Key Check 4 Followed the recommended seeding rate of 40 kg/ha for row seeding and 80 kg/ha for broadcast seeding. Ensured plant density of 150 plants/hill (40 kg/ha seeding rate) or 300 plants/hill (80 kg seeding rate). Assessed the hill density and health status of seedlings at 15 days after seeding (DAS) of pre-germinated seeds.

10. 1.Use a 1 m x 1 m quadrat. 2.Randomly select 3 sampling sites at least 1 m from the levee and in a diagonal line across the field. How to assess the health status of seedlings? Direct wet-seeded rice (DWSR) 1 m

11. 3. Count the plants from each quadrat and get the average number of plants/m 2. 4. Compute for the number of plants/m 2 by dividing the total number of plants by 3. How to assess the health status of seedlings? Direct wet-seeded rice (DWSR) 5. In every parcel, randomly select 10 hills. Each hill should have at least 1 healthy seedling.

12. Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Transplanted rice Variety Seeding rate (kg/ha) Minimum Seedbed Area (m 2 ) Age of seedlings (days) No. of seedlings (per hill) Planting distance (cm x cm) Inbred20-4040020-252-3 20 x 20 WS 20 x 15 DS Hybrid15-2040020-251-2 20 x 20 WS 20 x 15 DS  Follow the recommended rates!

13. Transplanted rice Variety Seeding rate (kg/ha) Minimum Seedbed Area (m 2 ) Inbred20-40400 Hybrid15-20400 Follow the recommended! Sowing the right amount of seeds results in strong and healthy seedlings! 40 kg inbred rice seeds are more than enough to plant a hectare field hybrid varieties produce more tillers so their seeding rate is lower a 20 m x 20 m seedbed allows enough space for seedlings to grow

14. Transplanted rice Variety Age of seedlings (days) Inbred20-25 Hybrid20-25 Follow the recommendation! too young seedlings are susceptible to golden kuhol while too old seedlings will have difficulty recovering from transplanting stress transplant seedlings 2-3 cm deep.

15. Transplanted rice Variety No. of seedlings (per hill) Planting distance (cm x cm) Inbred2-3 20 x 20 WS 20 x 15 DS Hybrid1-2 20 x 20 WS 20 x 15 DS Follow the recommended! lower number of seedlings per hill for hybrid due to its high cost and hybrid vigor too close spacing results in mutual shading, less tillers, and in tall plants which are susceptible to lodging proper spacing increases potential yield by 25-30%

16. Transplanted rice Do not cut the leaves of the seedlings before transplanting. The cut area can be an entry point for disease-causing organisms.

17. Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Transplanted rice  Establish a good seedbed.  Near a water source to ensure sufficient water for seedling growth.  With good drainage to avoid drowning germinated seeds that result in weak seedlings.  Far from fields infected with tungro and other diseases to avoid infection.

18.  Away from light source to protect from insect pests.  Well-leveled for even distribution of water and fertilizer.  Not shaded Transplanted rice  Protected from rats, birds and snails that eat seeds.

19. Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Transplanted rice  Apply organic materials before leveling the seedbed. Type of soilRate of application Seedbed size Time of application Fine-textured10-15 bags organic material or 3-4 bags commercial organic fertilizer 400 m 2 before sowing the seeds Medium- textured No need to apply organic materials

20. Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Direct wet-seeded rice  Prepare the field for seeding by following the land preparation and leveling recommendations as stated in Key Check 2.  Protect pre-germinated seeds from birds, rats, snails, and weeds by following the recommended pest management practices.

21. Recommendations to achieve Key Check 4 Direct wet-seeded rice  Broadcast pre-germinated seeds evenly onto the field.  Sow extra pre- germinated seeds (1 kg) on the side of the field for replanting. Replant bare patches 7-10 DAS to avoid uneven maturity.

22. Input TPR proper seeding rate proper seedbed establishment proper seedling rate and spacing assessment of seedling health status replanting of missing hills DWSR proper seeding rate proper land preparation pest management proper sowing of pre- germinated seeds replanting of missing hills Output Sufficient number of healthy seedlings Outcome good yield good grain quality minimal damage to environment

23. Crop Establishment Key Check 4: Sufficient Number of Healthy Seedlings

24. Text: 0920-911-1398 CREDITS Instructional presentation designer: Ms. Ev Parac Sources of technical content/reviewers of presentation: Mr. Glenn Ilar Note: Adapted from powerpoint presentations developed by: Mr. Salvador Yabes; Dr. Manny Regalado; Engr. Eugenio C. Castro, IRRI You may use, remix, tweak, For more information, visit: & build upon this presentation non-commercially. However, always use with acknowledgment. Unless otherwise stated, the names listed are PhilRice staffers. Produced in 2011.

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