Dry System of Cultivation (upland rice)

Sowing - Broadcasting in the high level land with outbreak of the monsoon.

Situation - Followed in almost all rice growing states in India but mainly confined to tracts which get either the south-west or north-east monsoon or both and do not have adequate irrigation facilities.

Alternate names - Bhatta or Kavali in Kannada, aus in West Bengal, aus or ahu in Assam, beali in Orissa, bhadi or kuari in Uttar Pradesh

Duration - 90 to 110 days

Cultivation practices:

• Ploughing - summer
• Application of organic manure
• Season - May-June in the case of the crop dependent on the south-west monsoon
• September - north-east monsoon,
• Sowing - sown or broadcast
• Seed rate - 60-80 kg/ha

When the moisture is at the marginal level the surface soil is compacted by a light roller.

A primitive type of shifting cultivation called punam cultivation in Malabar, kumari in South Kanara, podu in the Circars, jhum in Assam hills is being done in scrub jungles on a small scale. , The bushes are cut and burnt. The land is ploughed with pre-monsoon showers and rice is sown as a pure or mixed crop. The land is abandoned after the harvest of rice and allowed to recoup its fertility. Fresh jungle land is broken up for cultivation every year.

Semi-dry System of Cultivation

• Sowing - sown or broadcast as a dry crop for about two months and when more water is available, after the strengthening of monsoon, it is treated as wet crop.
• Season -  July-August, when the south-west monsoon is active, the rain water is impounded in the fields and the young crop of five to six weeks is inter cultivated by using slit hoe with about 5 cm of standing water in the field for partial weeding, thinning as well as stirring of soil to promote root formation.  This operation is also called as hodtha operation.