Nursery area

Select 20 cents (800 m2) of land area near to water source for raising seedlings for one hectare.

Seed rate

30 kg for long duration
40 kg for medium duration
60 kg for short duration varieties and
20 kg for hybrids

Seed treatment

• Treat the seeds in Carbendazim or Pyroquilon or Tricyclozole solution at 2 g/l of water for 1 kg of seeds. Soak the seeds in water for 10 hrs and drain excess water.
• This wet seed treatment gives protection to the seedlings up to 40 days from seedling disease such as blast and this method is better than dry seed treatment.
• If the seeds are required for sowing immediately, keep the soaked seed in gunny in dark and cover with extra gunnies and leave for 24hrs for sprouting.
• Seed treatment with Bacillus subtilis: Treat the seeds with talc based formulation of Bacillus subtilis 10g/kg of seed and soak in 1lit of water overnight. Decant the excess water and allow the seeds to sprout for 24hrs and then sow.
• Seed treatment with Azospirillum: Three packets (600 g/ha) of Azospirillum and 3 packets (600g/ha) of Phosphobacteria or 6 packets (1200g/ha)of Azophos. In bioinoculants mixed with sufficient water wherein the seeds are soaked overnight before sowing in the nursery bed (The bacterial suspension after decanting may be poured over the nursery area itself). 
• Biocontrol agents are compatible with biofertilizers
• Biofertilizers and biocontrol agents can be mixed together for seed soaking
• Fungicides and biocontrol agents are incompatible

Forming Seedbeds

• Mark plots of 2.5m breadth with channels 30cm wide all around the seedbeds.
• Length of the seed bed may vary from 8 to 10m according to soil and slope of the land.
• Collect the puddled soil from the channel and spread on the seedbeds or drag a heavy stone along the channel to lower it, so that the seed bed is at a higher level.
• Level the surface of the seedbed, so that the water drains into the channel.

Sowing
Sow the sprouted seeds uniformly on the seedbed, having thin film of water in the nursery.