Water Management Systems and Rice Yields Under Humid Tropical Conditions in Puerto Rico

Abstract

High rice yields of 7,020 kg of rough rice/ha were produced when seed was disced into the soil followed by permanent flooding. Similarly high yields of 6,830 kg/ha were produced with the same planting method when 5 cm of irrigation water was applied weekly without permanent flooding. When pregerminated rice was seeded in permanently flooded land, however, significantly lower yields of 5,300 kg/ha were obtained, probably because of several conditions: the adverse effects of algae, a less even stand of seedlings caused by floating germinated seed, earlier lodging of the plants, and also possibly, heavier losses of fertilizer nitrogen.