Deepwater Rice - Brian Taylor

Deepwater Rice - the farming year - 1 - the dry season

The first task of the deepwater season is to clear the land of the unusable remains of the previous crop. What has been left is a tangle of rotted and dried out lower stems.	Once the land is clear, the first ploughing can take place. This can be almost immediate so as to plant a short season winter crop (of which more later) when residual moisture is sufficient or irrigation is possible.

The traditional plough, drawn by an ox, is simple. <	After ploughing the dense alluvial soil has to be further broken down. Here a "ladder" is being used.

Laddering may be insufficient to break the clods of clay, so the farmers then use the "hammer".	A further laddering then finishes the land preparation, leaving a fine tilth ready for sowing.

a time to sow

©2000 - Brian Taylor CBiol FIBiol FRES
11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K.
Visiting Academic in the Department of Life Science, University of Nottingham

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