Rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the dry season (Boro) followed by rice
in the wet season (Aman) is the major cereal cropping system in Bangladesh. The
average productivity (7 Mg·ha﹣1) of this system is far below attainable
yields (14 Mg·ha﹣1) in farmers’ fields, resulting in a large yield
gap mainly due to farmers’ traditional management practices. Narrowing yield
gap is a vital complementary strategy in
improving rice yield and consequently enhancing food security. We evaluated
BRRI recommended management practices, BRRI recommended management
practices along with two N management options
(leaf color chart and Urea Super Granule) and farmers’ crop management practices integrated with quality seed, leaf color
chart (LCC) and Urea Super Granule (USG) in farmers’ fields of Kapasia,
Gazipur over 6 contiguous seasons during 2009-2012. Across years, all the management
options increased grain yields compared with the farmers’ practice (FP) by 1.12
Mg·ha﹣1 in Aman and 0.84 Mg·ha﹣1 in Boro season. The
higher yield response (43%) occurred with BRRI recommended management practices
followed by BRRI recommended management practices in combination with Urea
Super Granule (42%) as N source (BRRI-USG). Yield advantage of 41% could be
attained by BRRI recommended management practices with leaf color chart (LCC)
aided N management (BRRI-LCC) while this was 22%, 13% and 13% higher than FP
(farmer’s practice) when only quality seeds, USG and LCC were used with
farmers’ management practice. BRRI Rec., BRRI-LCC and BRRI-USG·management
options reduce the yield gap of FP by 41%, with an average of 2.87 Mg·ha﹣1.
When farmers adopted FP-QS, FP-USG and FP-LCC management options, they reduced
the yield gap of FP by 21%, 13% and 12%, with an average of 1.49, 0.88 and 0.81
Mg·ha﹣1, respectively. The average added net returns with BRRI Rec.,
BRRI-LCC and BRRI-USG·management options were US$175 to US$362 ha﹣1 in the wet season and US $158 to US $263 ha﹣1 in the dry season. BRRI
management practices and BRRI management practices integrated with two N
management options, either LCC or USG has the potential to boost rice yield and
consequently total rice production in Bangladesh.
References
[1]
Young,
A. (1999) Is There Really Spare Land? A Critique of Estimates of Available
Cultivable Land in Developing Countries. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1, 3-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1010055012699
[2]
IRRI (2008) I.R.R.I. Responding
to the Rice Crisis: How IRRI Can Work with Its Partners. IRRI, Los
Banos, 1-14.
[3]
Aureus, M. (2011) The Rise of Rice.
Rice Today, Jan-Mar, IRRI, Los Banos, 16.
[4]
Bangladesh
Economic Review (2009) Government of the People’s Republic
of Bangladesh Ministry of Finance, Dhaka.
[5]
FAO (2012)
FAOSTAT. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations—For a World without
Hunger, Statistics Division. http://faostat.fao.org/
[6]
Mukherjee, N., Choudhury, G.A., Khan,
M.F.A. and Islam, A.K.M.S. (2011) Implication of Changing Consumption Pattern on
Food Security and Water Resources in Bangladesh. Proceedings of the 3rd International
Conference on Water and Flood Management (ICWFM 2011), Dhaka, 8-10 January 2011, 731-738. (ISBN: 978-984-33-2298-2)
[7]
Ladha,
J.K., Pathak, H., Padre, A.T., Dawe, D. and Gupta, R.K. (2003) Productivity Trends
in Intensive Rice-Wheat Cropping Systems in Asia. In: Ladha,
J.K., Hill, J., Gupta, R.K., Duxbury, J. and Buresh, R.J., Eds., Improving the Productivity
and Sustainability of Rice-Wheat Systems: Issues and Impacts, ASA Special
Publication 65, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, 45-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/asaspecpub65.c3
[8]
Pathak, H., Ladha, J.K.,
Aggarwal, P.K., Peng, S., Das, S., Singh, Y., Singh, B., Kamara, S.K., Mishra,
B., Sastri, A.S.R.A.S., Aggarwal, H.P., Das, D.K. and Gupta, R.K. (2003)
Climatic Potential and On-Farm Yield Trends of Rice and Wheat in the
Indo-Gangetic Plains. Field Crops Research, 80,
223-234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4290(02)00194-6
[9]
Ladha, J.K., Kumar, V., Alam,
M.M., Sharma, S., Gathala, M.K., Chandna, P., Saharawat, Y.P. and Balasubramanian,
V. (2009) Integrating Crop and Resource Management Technologies for Enhanced
Productivity, Profitability and Sustainability of the Rice-Wheat System in
South Asia. In: Ladha, J.K., Yadvinder, S., Erenstein, O. and Hardy, B., Eds., Integrated Crop and
Resource Management in the Rice-Wheat System of South Asia, International
Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, 69-108.
[10]
BRRI (2007) BRRI
Annual Internal Review Report for 2006-07. Bangladesh Rice Research
Institute, Gazipur.
[11]
BRRI (2008) BRRI Annual Internal Review Report for 2007-08. Bangladesh Rice Research
Institute, Gazipur.
[12]
BRRI (2009) BRRI Annual Internal Review Report for 2008-09. Bangladesh Rice Research
Institute, Gazipur.
[13]
BRRI (2010) BRRI Annual Internal Review
Report for 2009-10. Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur.
[14]
Fertilizer
Recommendation Guide (2005) Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC),
Dhaka.
[15]
Alam, M.M., Buresh, R.J., Ladha, J.K. and
Khan, A.H. (2004) Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) for Rice. Bangladesh
Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 13-17.
[16]
BRRI (2008) Adhunik Daner Chas (A
Bangali Publication). Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur.
[17]
Gomez, K.A. and Gomez, A.A. (1984) Statistical Procedure
for Agricultural Research. 2nd Edition, John Willey and Sons, Singapore City,
28-192.
[18]
Regmi, A.P., Tripathi, J., Giri, G.S.,
Bhatta, M.R., Sherchan, D.P., Karki, K.B., Tripathi, B.P., Kumar, V. and Ladha,
J.K. (2009) Improving Food Security through Integrated Crop and Resource
Management in the Rice-Wheat System. In: Ladha, J.K., Yadvinder-Singh, Erenstein, O. and Hardy, B., Eds., Integrated Crop and Resource
Management in the Rice-Wheat System of South Asia, International Rice
Research Institute, Los Banos, 69-108.
[19]
Alam, M.M., Ladha, J.K., Khan, S.R.,
Rashid, H.F., Khan, A.H. and Buresh, R.J. (2005) Leaf Color Chart for Managing
Nitrogen Fertilizer in Lowland Rice in Bangladesh. Agronomy Journal, 97, 949-959. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj2004.0206
[20]
Alam, M.M., Ladha, J.K., Rahman,
Z.F., Khan, S.R., Rashid, H., Khan, A.H. and Buresh, R.J. (2006) Nutrient Management
for Increased Productivity of Rice-Wheat Cropping System in Bangladesh. Field Crops Research, 96, 374- 386. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2005.08.010
[21]
Sarker, M.A.R., Alam, K. and Gow,
J. (2012) Exploring the Relationship between Climate Change and Rice Yield in
Bangladesh: An Analysis of Time Series Data. Agricultural Systems, 112, 11-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2012.06.004
