Direct seeding in rice: Problems and prospects

Rice is grown all over the world and it fulfills the dietary needs of large population across the globe. However, conventional rice production system, which involves raising of nursery seedlings followed by transplanting of those seedlings in puddled flooded soil, requires a lot of water, energy, and labor resources. Flooded rice fields are also a source of methane emission-a potent greenhouse gas. In this scenario, farmers around the world have been shifted toward waterand labor-saving direct seeding of rice. Direct seeding also reduces methane emission. In this chapter, we have highlighted issues of direct seeding of rice and have proposed strategies to uplift uptake of direct-seeded rice.