Weedy rice: Threat for sustainability of direct seeded rice production

Abstract

Rice is the staple food for the world. Asia accounts for 90% of the world’s total rice area and production.It is traditionally grown in Asia by manual transplanting of seedlings into puddled soil. In the recent years, due to the labour and water shortages along with the problem of uncertainty in rainfall in the changing climate, pulled the farmers to shift from transplanting to direct seeded rice (DSR) system. DSR is more rapidly and easily planted, is less labour intensive, consumes less water, matures 7 to 10 day earlier, and has least methane emission. Despite these benefits, one of the major threats associated with the introduction of DSR is the evolution of weedy rice, one of the most difficult-to-control weed species of rice in the world. Add extent of loss due to weed infestation in DSR and transplanted rice both and also from weedy rice alone.