Sam Mweleza, a rice farmer in Lyam village, Kibuku district, explains the key details of lowland rice farming.
He says there are three main varieties of lowland rice, supa, which matures in 140 days, K-85, which matures in 130 days, and Wita-9, a variety that matures early and is resistant to the Yellow Mottle Virus.
“For planting one acre, a farmer needs 15kg of rice seeds, along with 25kg of DAP and 50kg of urea per acre to ensure optimal growth.”
This information is crucial for farmers to effectively manage and plan their rice farming efforts.
Seed preparation
It is not easy to differentiate good seeds from bad ones using the bare eye. Therefore, a farmer has to test them.
To do the test, put the seeds in a basin of water. Those that sink are good, while those that float are bad. Soak the good seeds in water for at least 24 hours and then incubate them in a sack for at least 36 hours, he explains.
Meanwhile, you also need to prepare the nursery bed for planting the seeds to create seedlings. Mweleza adds that a farmer needs to prepare a nursery bed of one metre in width and a convenient length. This should be ready at least one and a half days before planting.
Between 18 and 25 days after planting, he says seeds are ready for transplanting.
How to transplant
“If seedlings are tall, one may cut their tips off, so that they are easier to handle. You need to use the straight row method because this makes it easy to plant,” he says.
He says random planting is discouraged because it makes the farm untidy.
Mweleza says transplanting can be done with excess water, however, if there is too much water, it should be drained. You need spacing of 25cm x 25cm. Plant at a depth of 2-4cm.
Weed management
There are several ways of controlling weeds. These include the mechanical method, where weeds are weeded out by hand, chemical control, where weeds are sprayed with herbicides and cultural or good land preparation that involves closer crop spacing. This limits the growth of weeds.
Harvesting
Mweleza explains that harvesting should be done when 80-85% of the grains are straw-coloured. The stem of the rice is cut close to the ground using a sickle.
“Threshing can be done by beating with sticks against a log or using a mechanical thresher. Dry and winnow the rice to remove the husks,” he says.
