WG2: Work Plan 2006
Submergence-prone lowlands
*Detailed version can be downloaded here.


2006Work Plan Summary*

Faizabad , India, and Rangpur, Bangladesh


Key Site: Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Faizabad

IRRI team : A. Ismail (WG Leader), D Mackill,
NDUAT team : PC Ram (Key Site Coordinator), BB Singh, JL Dwivedi, VN Singh, PN Singh, U Singh, A Singh, A Srivastava

  • Conduct participatory varietal selection with “baby” trials in five villages each in Siddharthnagar (10 entries) and Faizabad (nine entries) districts with the intention to upscale tolerant varieties suitable for submergence-prone and drought/submergence-prone environments (with additional BMZ support). Swarna-Sub1 seed will be multiplied for large-scale evaluations in farmers’ fields for performance in shallow- and medium-flash-flooding environments under Uttar Pradesh conditions.
  • Survey women farmers on knowledge, attitude and practices of seed management in Siddharthnagar and Faizabad districts.
  • Analyze data and write report of the socio-economic survey of 75 farm households conducted in three new villages in wet season 2005.
  • Organize focused-group discussions of farmers’ perception of the technology interventions made during 2004 and 2005.
  • Evaluate on-station and on-farm for validation of the effects of promising nursery management and seedling handling practices on rice plant survival and recovery from submergence, and rice yield. Seeding rates and fertilizers will be evaluated in nursery, while seedling handling practices will involve transplanting either just after uprooting or after 24 hours. Submergence-tolerant Swarna-Sub1, recurrent popular variety Swarna, and NDR 9730018, which has a long, slender grain with good submergence tolerance, will be used for this evaluation.
  • Train men and women farmers on improved seed health management in Siddharthnagar and Faizabad districts during the wet season.
  • Select Swarna-Sub1 and lines from 2005 PVS trials for evaluation of physiological traits associated with submergence tolerance and yield, using pot culture and field conditions. Traits to be studied will be nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC), elongation, seedling vigor before submergence, reactive oxygen species, nutrient status, chlorophyll stability, etc. This may provide insights into whether the newly generated lines including Sub1 introgressed lines possess similar or different mechanisms of submergence tolerance.
  • Collect and purify a total of 15 traditional submergence-tolerant lines for further evaluation for use in breeding.
  • Validate submergence-tolerant lines, NDR 96005 and NDR 973004, for delayed planting on-farm using farmers’ management practices.
  • Validate panicle-selected seed technology against farmers’ usual practice of bulk harvesting seeds as a quality seed production practice for submergence-prone areas. This activity will help to demonstrate to farmers the advantages of panicle selection, or the value of using proper seed selection and storage methods rather then purchasing costly seeds.
  • Validate in farmers’ fields NDR 9930056 in preparation for submission to the Uttar Pradesh state varietal test and release program. The All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Programme (AICRIP) dropped this variety from its national test, but it attracted farmers’ interest due to its slender, fine grain and good submergence tolerance. NDUAT will evaluate NDGR 60, NDGR 85 and NDGR 105 in farmers’ fields as potential entries to the AICRIP.
  • Organize field days to collect farmers’ rankings/ratings of test lines and to obtain their feedback about varietal preferences.
  • Scale up activities by involving the poverty-alleviation NGOs, NEFORD and PRAGATI SANSTHAN, and prepare extension materials and other materials to promote CURE activities beyond Project villages.
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    Key Site: Rangpur regional station, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)

    IRRI team: A Ismail (WG Leader) D Mackill, M Hossain, T Paris, G Atlin, E Javier
    BRRI team (Rangpur): M A Mazid (key site coordinator), A. Haque, MA Salam, HU Ahmed, S Islam, M Rahman, A Kabir

     
  • Investigate on-station the optimal seeding rates and nutrient management for seedling production in nursery, testing improved submergence-tolerant variety Swarna-Sub1 in comparison with the submergence-sensitive BR 11 as check (new). Evaluate on-station the main field nutrient management at land preparation and in post-flooding (10-day submergence) using Swarna-Sub1 in comparison with BR 11 check ( new). Test Swarna-Sub1 and BR 11 check on –farm to validate best bet seeding rate and nutrient management technologies (new). Investigate solarization for raising healthy seedlings in the nursery and the carry-over effect of plant recovery from 10 days submergence in main field, using Swarna-Sub1, and BR 11 as check (continuing).
  • Develop and validate crop establishment options for direct-seeded rice using various sowing dates versus transplanted rice using various seedling ages, and effect on recovery after 10 days of submergence; to be conducted using Swarna-Sub1 and BR 11. Nursery management for transplanted rice will involve seeding rate and nutrient management, while main field management will involve pre- and post-flooding fertilizer treatments (new).
  • Validate on-farm direct-seeded rice establishment versus bolan (double transplanting) practice using various fertilizer management practices in main field; crop will be submerged by natural flooding after which nutrient management will be tested for post-flood survival and recovery (new).
  • Investigate various seeding rates and nutrient management practices to enhance the survival and recovery of T. aman rice after 10 days of submergence in main field (continuing).
  • Screen 116 advanced breeding lines for ability to recover from submergence in stagnant water (40 cm, 20 cm and 5 cm) into the new submergence screening facility surrounded by bricks/pucca levee at BRRI’s Rangpur regional station (new).
  • Evaluate 14 varieties/lines in a preliminary yield trial (PYT) to identify genotypes with better submergence tolerance (continuing).
  • Evaluate 42 advanced lines for submergence tolerance in an observational trial (OT), 2006 T. aman (new).
  • Conduct seed multiplication and agronomic characterization for Swarna-Sub1 by employing normal transplanting and tiller separation methods. Red Swarna, Swarna (recurrent) and BR 11 will be the checks (continuing).
  • Investigate best bet crop and natural resource management practices for submergence-tolerant varieties in farmers’ fields (continuing).
  • Develop and validate strategies to improve seed health and quality through seed cleaning, drying, processing and storage (new).
  • Investigate grain yield performance of Swarna-Sub1 relative to the BR 11 check under improved practices of bolan (double transplanting system) (new).
  • Evaluate 14 advanced lines along with BR 11 as a check in a preliminary yield trial for bolan practice, 2006 T. aman (new).
  • Validate for dissemination, practices that mitigate monga by increasing productivity: introducing early-maturing varieties, new crop establishment methods, and crop diversification through rice-rice and rice-nonrice cropping sequences at Gangachara, Rangpur (new).
  • Investigate crop establishment methods involving direct seeding and transplanting, in flat or raised beds, and different crop varieties in a rice-wheat-mungbean cropping (continuing).
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