A Detailed Guide to Rice Transplanting Time, Methods and Precautions

Transplanting refers to planting seedlings into paddy fields, or moving rice seedlings from the seedling bed into the paddy field. So when should rice be transplanted? What methods are there? What should be noted? According to rice grower Li Jianhui, the sowing time for early rice is mid-April for sowing and transplanting, transplanting in early May, harvesting in late July, immediately followed by late rice transplanting (known as double rush), which generally must be finished before the Start of Autumn, with late rice harvested from late October to November.

What are the rice transplanting methods?

1. Hand transplanting. In hand transplanting, the most important thing is the transplanting depth. Generally, if the transplanting depth exceeds 5 cm, there will be very few tillers at the low nodes, and after 7 cm there will be almost no tillering. Therefore, when transplanting, the water in the paddy field should not be too deep, only reaching the level where the soil is not exposed. The hardness of the soil is the key to ensuring quality. If the soil is too soft, even if the transplanting is shallow, the seedlings will sink downward after transplanting due to their own weight, and will end up being planted relatively deep; if the soil is too hard, the seedlings are likely to float after transplanting. Another point is that when transplanting, it is best to use two fingers to touch the ground, and not to insert downward but to press sideways, so as to ensure shallow planting while also preventing the seedlings from floating.

2. Machine transplanting. The standard is that when the transplanter is moving, transplanting is done in muddy water without affecting the seedlings already planted. When machine transplanting, tray-grown seedlings with uniform emergence and neat four sides can effectively reduce the rate of missed planting. When transplanting, leave the width of one pass of the transplanter around the paddy field, then transplant from the outside inward, and finally plant the outer perimeter. When filling in missing seedlings after transplanting, adhere to the principle of “if there are seedlings, do not fill; if two plants are missing, fill one hill; if one hill is missing, do not fill.” When one hill of seedlings is missing in the main field, the impact on yield is not great, so do not fill in too many.

3. Seedling throwing. The seedlings used for throwing should be prepared at about 10% more than for hand transplanting. The timing of throwing is the key to success or failure. If the soil is too loose, the thrown seedlings sink too deep and tillering is affected; if the soil is too hard, the thrown seedlings are shallow and prone to lodging. The suitable time for throwing is when the roots of the seedlings enter the soil by 2 cm as the standard. When throwing seedlings, do not throw sideways; throw them 3-5 m into the air so that the roots fall upright onto the ground. After throwing, pull one 30 cm wide working path every 5 m, throw the seedlings from the working path to places where seedlings are sparse, and at the same time comb through the rice seedling density of the whole field, making the throwing density as uniform as possible.

What should be noted in rice transplanting?

1. Climatic conditions, variety characteristics, and the connection between the preceding and following crops in rice sowing. Generally speaking, when the average temperature steadily passes 12°C for three consecutive days, wet seedlings can be sown; when the temperature steadily passes 10°C, dry seedlings or dry-raised thrown seedlings can be sown. In flat dam, shallow hilly and river valley areas below 400 m altitude, rice sowing time should be from late February to before March 5; in deep hilly and low mountain areas above 400 m altitude, rice sowing time should be from March 6 to 15, and in mountain areas no later than March 20. It is necessary to seize the sowing time at the cold tail and warm head of rice.

2. During the rice sowing and seedling raising stage, low-temperature freezing damage can easily cause large-scale damage to rice. Rice seedlings suffering from freezing damage will show varying degrees of yellowing, withered tips and death, and missing seedlings in the main field. Before and after freezing damage occurs, pay close attention to weather forecasts. 2-4 days before the low temperature arrives, spray Tianda 2116 drought-resistant seedling-strengthening type on the leaves for prevention. After freezing, promptly use Tianda 2116 and hymexazol to repair the frozen seedlings, and also seize the time to fill in missing seedlings.