Modified mat nursery produces young, healthy seedlings

Producing young and robust rice seedlings is a challenge for rice farmers everywhere. To help meet this challenge, scientists from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in India have developed an improved method in crop establishment: growing seedlings in a modified mat nursery.

The technology establishes seedlings in a layer of soil mix, arranged on a firm surface. It uses less land and requires fewer seeds and inputs, such as fertilizer and water, reducing nursery costs by up to 50%. After 15–20 days, the seedlings reach the four-leaf stage—which favors quick establishment in the field and rapid growth—and are ready for transplanting. This is much quicker than the 25–35 days required for traditional wet-bed nurseries.

How to establish a modified mat nursery

1. Use good-quality seeds. To plant 1 hectare with 1 to 2 seedlings per hill, 20 centimeters apart, use 12 to 25 kilograms of good-quality seeds with a minimum germination rate of 80%. It is important to use good seeds because they result in a lower seed rate, more uniform germination, less replanting, fewer weeds, healthy seedlings, and 5–20% higher yields.

2. Pregerminate your seeds. Soak your seeds for 24 hours (some varieties may need a longer time to bud). Drain the water after 24 hours, and keep the seeds moist by covering them for another 24 hours. By this time, the seeds will have sprouted buds and the first seed root will be about 2 to 3 millimeters long.

3. Prepare the soil mixture. You need 4 cubic meters of soil mix for every 100 square meters of nursery area. Mix 7 parts soil with 2 parts well-decomposed chicken manure, and 1 part fresh or charred rice hull.
 

4. Prepare the nursery area. Prepare a 100-square-meter nursery area for every 1 hectare that will be planted. Select a level area in your backyard or in the main field. Level your seedbed and spread banana leaves or plastic sheeting on top to prevent the roots of the seedlings from penetrating into the soil.

5. Lay the soil mixture. You can do this with or without using a wooden frame. For those using a wooden frame, place the frame on top of the banana leaves. The frame should be half a meter long, 0.3 meter wide, and 4 centimeters deep, divided into equal segments. Then, fill the frame almost to the top with the soil mixture you prepared.

6. Sow the pregerminated seeds uniformly. Sprinkle soil and pat gently to embed them at about 2–3 centimeters into the soil, then sprinkle water immediately.
 

7. Remove the wooden frame and repeat laying the soil mixture and sowing seeds until you have finished the whole nursery area. For those who prefer not to use a wooden frame, you can use banana stalks instead. Simply create a fence around the nursery using banana stalks pegged with wooden sticks, pour the soil mixture inside, and level before sowing. Cover the nursery with banana leaves or plastic sheeting once you’re through.

8. Water the nursery twice a day for 5 days and keep it covered with banana leaves or rice straw to keep the soil moist. Make sure that you protect the nursery from heavy rains for the first 5 days after seeding.

9. Five days after seeding, remove the cover and flood the nursery. Maintain a 1-centimeter water level around the mats. Then, drain the water 2 days before removing the seedling mats for transplanting. If your seedlings show yellowing after 7 days, it means that they lack nitrogen. You can solve this by sprinkling the seedlings with 0.5% urea solution. Simply dissolve 1.5 kilograms of urea in 300 liters of water to sprinkle over 100 square meters.

10. About 15 to 20 days after seeding, either transport the seedlings as such or pull them gently and transport them to the field.