Skip to content

Paddy nursery (narumadi) management

A wet paddy nursery, called narumadi in Telugu, is the small raised seed bed on which rice seedlings are raised to a transplantable age before being moved to the main field. Nursery quality is one of the strongest determinants of stand uniformity and final yield in transplanted paddy.

Principle

Seedlings are raised in a small, intensively managed area before transplanting (Transplanting Paddy) into the main field. IRRI's published recommendations call for 15-21 day-old four-leaf seedlings to maximise tiller production and grain yield; older seedlings (30+ days) progressively lose tillering potential and depress per-hill yield by up to about one tonne per hectare in long-term experiments.

Implementation

Nursery beds occupy roughly 5-10% of the target field area. Beds are puddled, levelled and drained to a thin film, then sown with pre-germinated seed. Basal fertilisation typically uses a complex like 20:20:0:13 or DAP, with urea + MOP top-dressing 10-15 days after sowing. A foliar 2 g/L (0.2%) zinc sulphate spray is added if chlorosis develops, addressing the most common nursery micronutrient disorder (Micronutrient Deficiency Paddy). Algal mats on standing water are managed as described in Algae Management Paddy.

Adoption context

Wet beds (narumadi) remain the dominant system across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. ICAR and TNAU package-of-practice manuals also describe modified-mat and dapog nurseries, which use thinner soil-cement or polythene-backed beds to raise seedlings suitable for mechanical transplanters. Direct-seeded systems (Direct Seeded Rice Broadcast, Dry Direct Seeded Rice) eliminate the nursery entirely.

Limitations

Late transplanting from over-aged nurseries is one of the most common avoidable yield losses in paddy. Overcrowded beds, late top-dressing and unmanaged weed and algal pressure also degrade seedling vigour and predispose the crop to early-season pest and disease losses.

See also: Transplanting Paddy, Direct Seeded Rice Broadcast, Dry Direct Seeded Rice, Micronutrient Deficiency Paddy, Algae Management Paddy.

References

  1. How to prepare seedlings for transplanting. IRRI Rice Knowledge Bank.
  2. Techniques of Rice Nursery Establishment and Transplanting. ResearchGate review.