Rice growing pays off (part II)

Sowing

• Line planting (drilling) or spot planting (dibbling) is recommended for ensuring optimum seeding depth, plant population and easier weed control.
• For line planting, leave 30cm between the lines while for pot planting, create 30cmx12.5cm with seven seeds per hole. 20kg per acre is the optimum seeding rate.
• Seeds can be got from certified seed dealers around the country.
• It is recommended that upland rice is planted at a depth of 2-4cm. Deeper planting causes low germination and delayed maturity. On the other hand, shallow planting has risks of drought and birds damage.
• The farmer should apply Urea and DAP at a rate of 20kg per acre three weeks after germination and again, apply Urea eight weeks after germination. A 50kg of DAP costs sh130,000.

Weeding

Weeds prevent rice from receiving sunshine, soil nutrients, and water. Weeds also attract insects, rats, and diseases. Weeding must be done at least two times at three and six weeks after germination either by hand or hoe.

Diseases

Look out for rice blast. It appears through spots and lesions on the leaves. It can be controlled by planting resistant varieties such as NERICAs and avoid excessive application of nitrogen fertilisers because it may turn poisonous to the plants.

Harvesting

• The stems of the rice are cut close to the ground using serrated sickles. This method of harvesting is faster than harvesting panicles using a knife.
• Harvesting should be done when 80-85% of the grains are yellow-coloured on the outside and the grains of the lower party of the panicle are in the hard stage.
• Threshing can be done by beating with logs, sticks or using a thresher. Threshing by beating increases broken grains at milling, hence making losses. Use a thresher where possible.
• Open air drying is the commonest practice in Uganda, however, big farmers have mechanical driers.

Simple machines that can ease rice growing:

The planter

This is a small compact machine that can be operated using a walking tractor. This can ease the planting of seeds. While a farmer may need at least 20 people to plant an acre in a day, a planter can do it in a single day. A planter costs between sh1.5m and sh2m.

The water pump

In order to grow rice effectively, there should be canals running through the rice blocks for effective distribution of water.

However for this water to move, there should be a pump, unless a person is using natural water streams. A water pump, plus hoses, is fixed together to pump water around the farm.

The pump consumes less than half a litre of fuel per hour. A litre costs between sh3,700 and sh4,000.

The thresher

There are several types of threshers. One can be operated using wheels of the hand tractor, another can be operated using a motor cycle. The good thing is that the thresher itself is fabricated locally by one of the leading farm machinery fabricators, which makes its price affordable.