Citation:RATNASEKERA, D. P., Perera, U. I. P., & Subhashi, A. P. T. (2015). Impact of soil seed bank dynamics on weedy rice distribution and farmer involvement in management: Case study in Marata district, Sri Lanka. Journal of AgriSearch, 2(4), 251-256.
Date:2015
Abstract:
Weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) reduces rice yield qualitatively and quantitatively. This
case study was carried out to assess the impact of weedy rice seed soil bank dynamics to the
temporal density variation in consecutive two years and to assess the farmers’ involvement
on the management of weedy rice in the area. For soil seed bank dynamics, soil samples were
collected from 12”x12” 3” space with ten random samples per each location while number
of weedy rice plants in 1m2
quadrate was counted in five different places per each location
with at least 5m distance between populations in following two consecutive seasons. Our
results revealed significantly wide range of variability of weedy rice seed persistency (153.9
- 42.2) in soil seed bank showing their high adaptability and direct correlation to temporal
density in rice ecosystems. The 77% of weedy rice infested paddy lands were direct seeded
and collective approaches were used by farmers to control weedy rice in the area. The best
preventive measure identified was practice of high-quality paddy seeds. The understanding
of the soil seed bank dynamics, diversity, density and distribution is vital to implement
successful and efficient management practices.
