Upland rice
Oryza sativa L. s. indica
Temperature
25°C to 35°C
Rainfall
885mm to 1955mm per season
Conditions
What it needs
Soil
Heavier soils that hold moisture. Upland rice is rain-fed rather than flooded, so it needs rain that keeps coming.
Water
No standing water, but no long gaps either. A dry spell at flowering empties the grains, and there is no way to make that back.
What you will need
Tick what you already have; Grow carries the rest into the cost working.
Grow holds no supplier listings and no local prices, so it cannot tell you where to buy these or what they cost near you. Ask at your nearest agrodealer or extension office, then put those figures into the planner.
Through the season
Stages
- 01
Land preparation
14 days- Plough and level
- Work in organic matter
- 02
Planting
3 days- Sow into moist soil
- Apply basal fertiliser
- 03
Tillering
30 days- First weeding
- Top-dress nitrogen
- 04
Panicle formation
25 days- Second weeding
- Watch for blast
- 05
Flowering and grain fill
30 days- Scare birds
- Keep weeds down
- 06
Harvest and drying
14 days- Cut when grains are firm
- Dry and thresh
Watch for
Common problems
Rice blast
- What you will see
- Diamond-shaped grey lesions on leaves, and necks that break so the head hangs empty.
- What to do
- Plant resistant varieties, avoid heavy nitrogen all at once, and do not plant too densely.
African rice gall midge
- What you will see
- Tillers that form a hollow tube instead of a head.
- What to do
- Plant early and together with neighbours, and destroy volunteer rice and wild grasses between seasons.
Birds
- What you will see
- Grain taken from the milk stage onwards.
- What to do
- Scare from the milk stage. Planting in one block with neighbours spreads the loss.
Follow the label for doses, and ask an extension officer or vet before using a chemical you have not used before.