Skip to content

Direct-seeded rice - wet broadcast (vedajalla / veda)

Wet direct-seeded rice (Wet-DSR), known in Telugu as vedajalla or veda, is a paddy establishment method in which sprouted (pre-germinated) seed is broadcast or line-sown onto a puddled field that has been drained to shallow water. The system eliminates the nursery and transplanting steps that define conventional puddled-transplanted rice.

Principle

Pre-germination ensures rapid stand establishment on a soft, levelled puddled bed. Because the field is briefly drained to thin film water at sowing, sprouted seed anchors well, after which water is allowed to seep back. The method retains the puddling step but removes the labour and time penalty of nursery raising and transplanting.

Implementation

Seed is soaked for 24 hours and incubated for another 24 hours until radicles emerge. The puddled field is levelled and drained to a thin water film, after which seed is broadcast at standard rates or drilled by a wet-DSR drum seeder. The first post-emergence irrigation is initiated 8-10 days after sowing and continued at weekly intervals adjusted to soil texture. Pre- and post-emergence herbicides are critical because weed pressure is higher than in transplanted systems (Paddy Weed Management).

Adoption context

ICAR-IIRR has run a dedicated CSR-funded mechanisation and extension programme for DSR in Telangana, citing approximately 40% irrigation water savings, 20-30% lower cost of cultivation and a 10-15 day shorter season compared to transplanted rice, with no significant yield penalty when management is sound. The system is positioned as a labour and water response for command areas under pressure.

Limitations

Weed competition - especially from Echinochloa spp. and weedy rice - is the principal agronomic risk, followed by poor uniformity in laser-unlevelled fields, algal scum on standing water (Algae Management Paddy) and bird damage to broadcast seed. Calibrated drum-seeded line sowing reduces these problems compared to free broadcasting.

See also: Dry Direct Seeded Rice, Transplanting Paddy, Paddy Nursery Management, Paddy Weed Management, Algae Management Paddy.

References

  1. DSR CSR Programme. ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad.
  2. Direct Seeded Rice: A Technology for Enhancing Climate Resilience. ICAR-NRRI Research Bulletin No. 50.