Multiple Leveling for Paddy Field Preparation with Double Axis Rotary Tillage Accelerates Rice Growth and Economic Benefits

Yifu Zhang, Jian Liu, Wei Yuan, Ruihong Zhang and Xiaobo Xi
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Yifu Zhang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Jian Liu: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Wei Yuan: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Ruihong Zhang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Xiaobo Xi: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: In the multiple cropping regions of southern China, straw returning has become a widely practiced agronomic measure for rice cultivation. However, excessive straw often leads to a high proportion of stubble in topsoil, which prolongs the leveling time of the paddy field and delays the transplanting date for rice seedlings. In particular, scholars in this region have successively improved multiple paddy field levelers to realize excellent straw returning and subsequent land preparation synchronously, but the economic benefit from land preparation to crop harvest was less reported. Therefore, this study carried out a 2-year rice cultivation experiments to compare the effects of paddy field preparation methods on rice growth and economic benefits within the same growing duration. Three treatments were designed: traditional tillage (TT), double axis rotary tillage (DR) and multiple operations for paddy field preparation (DR + ML), with three repeats. The results showed that DR + ML treatment simplified the operation process while improving the quality of land preparation. Within the same growing duration, DR + ML treatment could reduce the paddy field preparation time and extend the growing time in the field by 5–6 days. Furthermore, in comparison to TT treatment, DR + ML showed advantages in stimulating plant development, increasing dry matter accumulation (DMA), and thereby increasing rice yield by more than 12%. The economic benefits were mainly reflected in saving operation cost of paddy field preparation and improving the output (grain yield), which can generally increase the total profit by 58%. The implementation of this study can provide a reference for a simplified high yield cultivation technique in rice-related multiple cropping systems.

Keywords: rice cultivation; paddy field leveling; multiple preparation; crop growth; economic benefit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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