Leveling-index based variable rate seeding technique for paddy

Poor land leveling of paddy fields leads to irrigation problems which affect crop establishment and ultimately yield. One way to manage this is to vary the seeding rate according to the level profile of the land in order to get a more uniform crop establishment. In this work, a variable rate seeding technique for paddy production is presented. The method determined the variable rate seeding strategy based on the land leveling index of the plot. The leveling index is a measure of the unevenness of a land surface. The determination of land leveling index was carried out during the final land tilling stage. This minimized time and labor usage because the leveling index measurement could be done simultaneously while the land was being prepared. The system produced an accuracy of +/- 20 mm vertically and +/- 10 mm horizontally. The data collected from the system was processed to determine the leveling index of the field. Leveling index 5 was used as a reference to generate a variable rate seeding treatment map. Conditional rules were created to split the map into three categories (High, Low and Even) to facilitate practical use of the variable rate map. An analysis of variance was done to compare between the variable rate seeding strategy and the conventional blanket seeding strategy. The results showed that there was no significant difference in plant population between the High, Low and Even areas when the variable rate seeding strategy was employed. This means that the proposed approach was able to ensure a more uniform crop establishment across the paddy field.