early
Early season drought
(June 1 to July 31) occurs due to normal onset followed by a long dry spells or
delayed onset of monsoon. In most cases, rice crop is in the nursery are about
to transplant or already transplanted. The main problem is poor germination in
the nursery or poor plant population in the main field. Hence the contingency
measures mostly rely on resowing of the same variety or alternate short
duration crop varieties, alternate crops depending on the situation. Besides,
it also affects tillage operations, sowing, application of fertilizers and
intercultural operations. Drought at this stage can cause a moderate reduction
in yield due to seedling mortality or poor germination/ establishment, which
can be tackled by taking timely steps.