Rice

Soil Preparation

• Plough the field 2–3 times for fine tilth and proper leveling.
• Apply Farm Yard Manure (FYM) @ 6–8 tons per acre before final ploughing.
• Maintain soil pH between 6.0–7.5 and ensure good water retention.
• Use rotavator or puddling method for wet field preparation.

Nursery Sowing and Transplanting

Region Nursery Sowing Transplanting
Punjab May – June June – July
Sindh May – June June – July
KPK June July
• Use healthy, disease-free certified seeds.
• Soak seed in Motect 48%EC solution for 10–15 minutes against termites and other soil insects. It is chlorpyrifos and does nothing to seed-borne fungus — for bakanae and damping off treat the seed with a fungicide as well, and ask your Haryali Markaz which one is cleared for rice seed.
• Transplant the seedlings to the main field when they are 25–30 days old.

Seed Rate

Type Quantity per Acre
Basmati 6–8 kg
IRRI 8–10 kg
Hybrid 2–3 kg

Fertilizer Recommendation (Per Acre)

Fertilizer Quantity Time of Application
DAP (18:46:0) 2 bags (100 kg) At puddling/transplanting
Urea (46% N) 3–4 bags (150–200 kg) Half at transplanting, half at tillering stage
SOP 1 bag (50 kg) Panicle initiation stage
Zinc (Agritas) 10 kg Early growth stage
FYM 6–8 tons Before last ploughing

Water Management

• Maintain 2–3 inches of standing water during early growth.
• Drain water before fertilizer application.
• Keep field moist but not flooded at panicle stage.
• Stop irrigation 10–15 days before harvest.

Weed Management

Weed Damage Control Product
Barnyard Grass (Swank) Comes up with the transplanted crop and takes the water and the first nitrogen through the forty days that set the tillers. First hand weeding at 25 days after transplanting
Chinese Sprangletop (Nari) Spreads fast wherever the water runs shallow and takes the nitrogen of the first top dressing. Keep the water even across the field; it cannot establish under standing water
Rice Flatsedge (Ghui) Comes up in sheets within days of transplanting and crowds the seedlings before the crop can shade the water. Second hand weeding at 45 days after transplanting
Bhangra (Eclipta) Spreads flat over the wet soil between the hills and takes the nitrogen while the crop is still short. Pull it out before it flowers; a piece left lying roots again
Wild Rice (Jangli Chawal) Heads with the crop and sheds before harvest, so it takes a whole season's water and nitrogen and gives no grain. Sow certified seed and rogue the off-types out before they shed

• Manual weeding: 25 and 45 days after transplanting.
• Keep the water even and standing. Most of the weeds in the table above cannot establish under an even sheet, so levelling the field is worth more than any spray.
• Chemical control: no herbicide in this catalogue is cleared for transplanted paddy, and this section asks for none. FadeJet™ is S-metolachlor and its own label is maize — it carries no rice safener and must not go on a puddled field. If you want a pre-emergence spray, ask your Haryali Markaz for a product whose label names transplanted rice, and never put a maize herbicide in its place.

Insect Pest Management

Pest Damage Recommended Agritas Product
Stem Borer Tunnels inside stem Wriar 40%EC or Veento 1.9%EC
Leaf Folder Leaf rolling & drying Veento 1.9%EC
Brown Planthopper Sucks sap from stem base D-Pest 25%WP or Rancho 20%SP
Armyworm Eats leaves & panicles Cygny
Rice Bug Sucks grains causing empty husks Bugma

Disease Management

Disease Symptoms Recommended Agritas Product
Blast Brown spots on leaves & neck Espot 50%SC or Raison 40%SC
Sheath Blight Rot at base of tillers Dimize 16%SC
Brown Leaf Spot Dark brown spots on leaves Portible 70%WP
Bacterial Leaf Blight Yellowing & leaf drying Cotren-Due
False Smut Greenish spore balls on grains Noas 25%EC

Harvesting

• Crop matures in 100–120 days (variety dependent).
• Drain field water 15 days before harvest.
• Harvest when 80–85% grains turn golden.
• Dry grains properly before storage to avoid fungus.

For Product Support & Agronomic Advice:
Agritas Helpline: +92 336 1111 130

Pests & diseases of Rice

Fall Armywormhigh Stem Borerhigh Leaf Foldermedium Brown Planthopperhigh Rice Bugmedium Armywormhigh Loose Smutmedium Rice Blasthigh Bacterial Leaf Blighthigh Sheath Blightmedium Brown Leaf Spotmedium False Smutmedium Zinc Deficiency (Khaira)medium Nitrogen Deficiencymedium Iron Chlorosismedium Salinity and Sodicityhigh Phosphorus Deficiencymedium Potassium Deficiencymedium Micronutrient Deficiencymedium