Partially mechanized non-puddled rice establishment: on-farm performance and farmers’ perceptions

Figures & data

Table 1. General information of on-farm experiments of non-puddled aman and boro season rice.

Year	Locations	No. of paired fields	Rice varieties	Seedling age (days)	Seedling transplanting period	Total fertilizer used (kg ha^−1)
						Urea^(1)	DAP^(2)	MoP^(3)	Gypsum^(4)	Zinc^(5)	Boron^(6)
Aman season rice
2013	Alipur	6	Hybrid – Tej	25 to 30	20 to 29 July	188	150	75	0	0	0
2014	Alipur	6	Local – Jirashail	25 to 32	15 to 25 July	150	150	75	0	0	0
	Digram	6	Local – Swarna	25 to 27	17 to 23 July	188	150	90	75	0	0
	Jogonnathpur	6	Hybrid -Tej	35 to 44	5 to 10 August	240	203	128	113	0	0
	Durbachor	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-48	28 to 34	10 to 17 August	203	150	113	75	7.5	0
	Sutiakhali	6	Local – Jirashail	25 to 31	12 to 18 August	188	165	98	113	0	7.5
2015	Alipur	6	Local – Jirashail	24 to 32	20 to 29 July	150	113	75	75	0	0
	Choighati	6	Local – Swarna	25 to 29	10 to 20 July	150	113	75	75	7.5	7.5
	Digram	6	Local – Swarna	25 to 33	20 to 28 July	188	150	90	75	7.5	7.5
	Jogonnathpur	6	Local – Swarna	36 to 45	6 to 14 August	225	210	135	113	0	7.5
	Durbachor	6	Hybrid – Tej	30 to 40	9 to 16 August	203	150	75	90	0	7.5
	Sub-total: Aman rice	66
Boro season rice
2013	Alipur	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	35 to 43	20 to 28 February	244	188	113	113	7.5	7.5
	Digram	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	45 to 50	15 to 21 February	248	225	75	75	7.5	7.5
	Durbachor	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	38 to 45	12 to 15 February	263	188	113	113	0	7.5
	Kalitola	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	45 to 54	18 to 26 February	300	248	150	150	7.5	7.5
2014	Alipur	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	43 to 50	15 to 22 February	225	166	88	93	7.5	7.5
	Choighati	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	40 to 52	10 to 15 February	225	188	113	90	7.5	7.5
	Digram	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	44 to 55	9 to 14 February	263	188	90	113	7.5	7.5
	Sutiakhali	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	40 to 51	12 to 18 February	263	188	150	113	0	7.5
	Durbachor	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	35 to 41	13 to 17 February	295	225	113	150	0	7.5
	Kalitola	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	35 to 45	23 to 28 February	263	225	150	150	7.5	7.5
2015	Alipur	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	39 to 44	16 to 23 February	246	156	75	75	7.5	7.5
	Choighati	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	45 to 52	7 to 13 February	236	150	75	100	7.5	7.5
	Digram	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	50 to 55	20 to 28 February	236	150	75	100	7.5	7.5
	Jogonnathpur	6	HYV – BRRIdhan-28	38 to 44	20 to 28 February	300	248	188	225	7.5	75
	Sub-total: Boro rice	84
Total: aman and boro rice		150

⁽¹⁾ CO (NH₂)₂ form containing 46% of nitrogen (N); ⁽²⁾ (NH₄)₂HPO₄ form containing 18% N and 20% phosphorus; ⁽³⁾ KC1 form with 50% of potassium (P); ⁽⁴⁾ CaSO₄, 2H₂O form with 18% sulphur (S) and 20% calcium (Ca); ⁽⁵⁾ ZnSO₄. H₂O form with 17.5% S and 36% Zn; ⁽⁶⁾ H₃BO₃ form containing 17% boron (B).

Figure 1. Map of Bangladesh showing the locations of on-farm studies of non-puddled rice.

Figure 2. Monthly total rainfall (mm), average maximum and minimum temperature (°C) in study locations (called upazilas, districts). Data were collected from nearest weather stations of the Metrological Department of Bangladesh (BBS, 2016).

Table 2. Labour uses and cost for labour (hired and family) on non-puddled transplanting (NT) vs. puddled transplanting (PT) for on-farm aman rice cultivation in Bangladesh.

		Labour (person-day ha^−1)
		Transplanting			Weeding			Total (Transplanting + weeding)			Total labour cost (hired + family labour) US$ ha^−1
Year	Location (L)	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean
2013	Alipur	31.7	30.0	30.9	15.3b	20.0a	17.7	47.0b	50.0a	48.5	181	192	187
	LS	NS			**			**			NS
	CV %	5.9			6.3			6.3			5.3
2014	Alipur	34.2	31.7	32.9	16.3	20.2	18.3B	50.5	51.8	51.2B	271	285	278B
	Digram	34.7	33.0	33.8	21.2	23.3	22.3A	56.3	56.3	56.3A	315	299	307A
	Jogonnathpur	34.7	32.7	33.7	15.7	18.8	17.3BC	50.3	51.5	50.9B	285	289	288AB
	Durbachor	35.7	33.3	34.5	14.5	15.3	14.9C	50.2	48.7	49.4B	231	238	235C
	Mean	34.8a	32.7b		16.9b	19.4a		51.8	52.1		276	278
	LS	L = NS, T = * Lx T = NS			L = **, T = **, LxT = NS			L = **, T = NS, Lx T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS
	CV%	6.2			16.0			6.3			10.2
2015	Alipur	31.7	30.0	30.8C	13.2	21.0	17.1BC	44.8	51.0	47.9D	155	176	166C
	Choighati	34.7	33.5	34.1A	14.8	21.7	18.3B	49.5	55.2	52.3AB	190	212	201A
	Digram	33.3	33.2	33.3AB	15.7	19.87	17.8ABC	49.0	53.0	51.0BC	138	149	144D
	Jogonnathpur	33.2	32.3	32.8B	15.7	19.7	17.7ABC	48.8	52.0	50.4BC	156	167	162C
	Durbachor	34.2	33.3	33.8A	13.8	18.2	16.0C	48.0	51.5	49.8CD	172	185	179B
	Sutiakhali	35.2	33.0	34.1A	15.8	23.5	19.7A	51.0	56.5	53.8A	196	217	207A
	Mean	33.7a	32.6b		14.8b	20.6a		48.5b	53.2a		168b	184a
	LS	L = **, T = ** L x T = NS			L = *, T = ** L x T = NS			L = **, T = ** L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS
	CV%	3.3			14.5			5.8			5.5

NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; LS = Level of significance [** and * mean significant at 1% and 5%, respectively]; NS = Not significant; CV = Coefficient of variation; L = Locations; T = Transplanting methods (NT or PT). US$1 = Tk. 78. Values with the same capital letter in a column for location means and a small letter in a row for means of the transplanting methods are not significantly different by DMRT.

Table 3. Tillage and labour cost for on-farm experiments with non-puddled transplanting (NT) vs. puddled transplanting (PT) on boro rice.

		Labour (person-day ha^−1)
		Transplanting			Weeding			Total (Transplanting + weeding)			Total labour cost (hired + family labour) US$ ha^−1
	Year/Location (L)	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean
2013	Alipur	32.0	30.0	31.0B	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	50.0	48.1B	178	192	185B
	Digram	32.3	30.0	31.2B	15.5	20.7	18.1	47.8	50.7	49.3B	183	195	189A
	Durbachor	32.5	30.5	31.5B	13.5	19.7	16.5	46.0	50.2	48.1B	177	193	185B
	Kalitola	35.0	33.7	34.3A	15.7	20.0	17.8	50.7	53.7	52.2A	130	138	134C
	Mean	33.0a	31.0b		17.7b	20.1a		47.7b	51.1a		167b	179a
	LS	L = **, T = **, L x T = NS			L = NS, T = **, L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS
	CV%	13.0			11.4			5.2			5.03
2014	Alipur	32.0a	30.0c	31.0C	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	50.0	48.1	178c	192b	185B
	Choighati	32.0a	32.0a	32.0A	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	52.0	49.1	178c	200a	189A
	Digram	32.0a	30.0c	31.0C	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	50.0	48.1	178c	192b	185B
	Sutiakhali	32.0a	30.8b	31.4B	14.2	19.2	16.6	46.0	50.0	48.0	177c	192b	185B
	Durbachor	32.5a	30.3bc	31.4B	13.8	20.0	16.9	46.3	50.3	48.3	148e	161d	154C
	Kalitola	32.0a	30.0c	31.0C	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	50.0	48.1	118g	128f	123D
	Mean	32.1a	30.5b		14.1b	19.9a		46.2b	50.4a		163b	178a
	LS	L = **, T = **, L x T = *			L = NS, T = **, L x T = NS			L = NS, T = **, L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = **
	CV%	5.6			6.7			6.5			7.66
2015	Alipur	33.3	28.7	31.0	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	50.0	48.1	178	192	185A
	Choighati	32.3	30.7	31.5	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	50.0	48.1	178	192	189A
	Digram	32.0	32.5	32.3	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	50.0	48.1	178	192	185A
	Jogonnathpur	32.3	30.0	31.2	14.2	20.0	17.1	46.2	50.0	48.1	148	160	154B
	Mean	32.5a	30.5b		14.2b	20.0a		46.2b	50.0a		170b	184a
	LS	L = NS, T = **, L x T = NS			L = NS, T = **, L x T = NS			L = NS, T = **, L x T = NS			L = *, T = **, L x T = NS
	CV%	8.4			6.7			6.4			5.4

NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; LS = Level of significance [** and * mean significant at 1% and 5%, respectively]; NS = Not significant; CV = Coefficient of variation; L = Locations; T = Transplanting methods (NT or PT). US$1 = Tk. 78. Values with the same capital letter in column for location means and a small letter in a row for means of the transplanting methods are not significantly different by DMRT.

Table 4. Yield attributing characters of on-farm experiments of aman season rice.

		No. of effective tillers hill^−1			Panicle length (cm)
Year	Location (L)	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean
2013	Alipur	15.5	13.8	14.7	12.8	12.7	12.8
	LS	NS			NS
	CV%	11.3			16.2
2014	Alipur	14.5	15.7	15.1	13.5	12.8	13.2
	Digram	14.5	14.3	14.4	15.5	15.0	15.3
	Jogonnathpur	17.5	15.0	16.3	14.8	13.0	13.9
	Durbachor	15.2	14.2	14.7	13.2	13.2	13.2
	Mean	15.1	14.8		14.3	13.5
	LS	L = NS, T = NS, LxT = NS			L = NS, T = NS, Lx T = NS
	CV%	13.0			11.3
2015	Alipur	18.7a	18.0	18.3A	16.2	16.2	16.2A
	Choighati	18.8	17.2	18.0AB	14.5	13.7	14.1B
	Digram	15.5	14.7	15.1CD	16.2	15.3	15.8A
	Jogonnathpur	15.3	14.3	14.8CD	14.7	13.8	14.3B
	Durbachor	15.3	13.5	14.4D	14.3	13.5	13.9B
	Sutiakhali	17.0	15.7	16.3BC	14.3	12.7	13.5C
	Mean	16.8a	15.6b		15.0a	14.2b
	LS	L = **, T = *, L x T = NS			L = **, T = *, L x T = NS
	CV%	13.9			11.4

NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; LS = Level of significance [** and * mean significant at 1% and 5%, respectively]; NS = Not significant; CV = Coefficient of variation; L = Locations; T = Transplanting methods (NT or PT). US$1 = Tk. 78. Values having same capital letter in columns for location means and small letters in a row for means of the transplanting methods are not significantly different by DMRT.

Table 5. Yield attributing characters of on-farm experiments of boro season rice.

		Number of effective tillers hill^−1			Number of ineffective tillers hill^−1			Panicle length (cm)
Year	Location (L)	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean
2013	Alipur	23.2	21.8	22.50A	5.33	5.33	5.33A	19.7	19.3	19.50
	Digram	22.0	21.0	21.67A	4.50	4.16	4.30B	19.0	18.7	18.83
	Durbachor	17.3	17.8	21.50A	4.66	7.00	5.83A	19.5	18.0	18.75
	Kalitola	21.8	21.5	17.58B	4.83	6.83	5.83A	20.3	19.7	20.00
	Mean	21.1	20.5		4.82b	5.83a		19.6	18.9
	LS	L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **,T = **, L x T = **			L = NS, T = NS, L x T = NS
	CV%	9.6			19.10			10.1
2014	Alipur	23.0	21.2	22.1A	5.16	5.66	5.41	20.5	20.5	20.50A
	Choighati	22.5	22.0	22.3A	5.50	5.33	5.41	22.0	19.5	20.75A
	Digram	19.5	18.2	18.8BC	5.16	6.16	5.66	19.2	19.8	19.50B
	Sutiakhali	20.8	18.3	19.6B	5.66	6.16	5.91	17.3	17.7	17.50C
	Durbachor	17.8	167	17.3C	5.00	5.50.	5.25	17.0	17.0	17.00C
	Kalitola	19.7	20.0	19.8B	5.00	6.00	5.50	18.2	17.3	17.75C
	Mean	20.6a	19.4b		5.25	5.80		19.1	18.6
	LS	L = **, T = *, L x T = NS			L = NS, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS
	CV%	10.9			31.69			10.9
2015	Alipur	23.2	22.5	22.8	6.16	5.50	5.83	16.5	15.5	16.00C
	Choighati	21.3	20.3	20.8	5.16	6.16	5.66	17.7	17.3	17.50BC
	Digram	22.5	21.0	21.8	6.00	6.16	6.08	18.5	18.2	18.33AB
	Jogonnathpur	22.7	20.7	21.7	4.66	5.50	5.08	20.3	19.2	19.75A
	Mean	22.4a	21.1b		5.50	5.83		18.3	17.5
	LS	L = NS, T = *, L x T = NS			L = NS, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS
	CV%	9.4			21.3			10.3

NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; LS = Level of significance [** and * mean significant at 1% and 5%, respectively]; NS = Not significant; CV = Coefficient of variation; L = Locations; T = Transplanting methods (NT or PT). US$1 = Tk. 78. Values having the same capital letter in columns for location means and small letters in a row for means of the transplanting methods are not significantly different by DMRT.

Table 6. Grain mass, grain and straw yield of on-farm experiments with aman season rice.

		Grain mass ^−1000 (g)			Grain yield (t ha^−1)			Straw yield (t ha^−1)
Year	Location (L)	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean
2013	Alipur	24.0	23.8	23.9	3.97	3.96	3.96	4.13	4.16	4.14
	LS	NS			NS			NS
	CV%	9.1			9.5			12.3
2014	Alipur	19.5c	18.5c	19.0A	4.50	4.33	4.41B	4.85	4.17	4.78C
	Digram	19.7c	21.3b	20.5B	4.45	4.48	4.46B	5.02	4.76	4.90B
	Jogonnathpur	23.2a	22.0ab	22.6A	5.36	5.18	5.27A	5.33	5.20	5.27A
	Durbachor	23.0a	23.0a	23.0A	4.71	4.41	4.56B	5.16	4.91	5.03AB
	Mean	21.3	21.2		4.75	4.60		5.09	4.89
	LS	L = **, T = NS, L x T = *			L = *, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = *, T = NS, L x T = NS
	CV%	8.8			9.6			17.5
2015	Alipur	22.3	20.7	21.5A	4.60	4.56	4.58B	4.78	4.79	4.79B
	Choighati	21.3	20.8	21.1AB	4.69	4.45	4.57B	4.97	4.80	4.89B
	Digram	23.2	21.7	22.5A	5.07	4.96	5.02A	5.36	5.12	5.24A
	Jogonnathpur	18.0	16.3	17.2C	4.43	4.44	4.44BC	4.78	4.68	4.73B
	Durbachor	18.8	18.2	18.5C	4.12	4.11	4.11D	4.46	4.48	4.47C
	Sutiakhali	21.8	19.7	20.8B	4.30	4.18	4.24CD	5.13	4.73	4.93B
	Mean	20.9a	19.6b		4.54	4.45		4.92a	4.77b
	LS	L = **, T = **, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = *, L x T = NS
	CV%	8.1			12.5			15.7

NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; LS = Level of significance [** and * mean significant at 1% and 5%, respectively]; NS = Not significant; CV = Coefficient of variation; L = Locations; T = Transplanting methods (NT or PT). Values with the same capital letter in columns for location means and small letters in a row for means of the transplanting methods are not significantly different by DMRT.

Table 7. Grain and straw yield of on-farm experiments with boro season rice.

		Grain mass ^−1000 (g)			Grain yield (t ha^−1)			Straw yield (t ha^−1)
Year	Location	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean
2013	Alipur	23.3	22.2	22.8A	5.85	5.71	5.78B	6.33	6.17	6.25A
	Digram	21.2	20.7	20.5B	5.23	4.92	5.08C	5.55	5.43	5.49B
	Durbachor	19.5	18.0	18.8C	4.77	4.55	4.66D	5.07	4.92	5.00C
	Kalitola	21.7	20.7	21.2D	6.46	6.19	6.32A	6.45	6.24	6.34A
	Mean	21.4a	20.2b		5.58	5.34		5.85	5.69
	LS	L = **, T = *, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS
	CV%	8.6			7.71			15.2
2014	Alipur	19.8	21.7	20.8A	6.02	6.05	6.04A	6.22	5.65	5.93A
	Choighati	19.8	17.7	18.8BC	4.58	4.45	4.51CD	5.06	4.97	5.01B
	4.72Digram	21.7	21.3	21.5A	4.76	4.61	4.69C	5.13	5.15	5.23B
	Sutiakhali	18.7	18.8	18.8BC	4.53	4.27	4.40D	4.75	4.68	4.72C
	Durbachor	18.8	17.7	18.3C	4.73	4.72	4.73C	5.05	5.26	5.14B
	Kalitola	20.5	19.3	19.9AB	5.19	4.96	5.08B	5.18	5.11	5.15C
	Mean	19.9	19.4		4.97	4.85		5.26	5.13
	LS	L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS
	CV%	10.1			11.1			16.0
2015	Alipur	22.5	22.0	22.3A	6.10a	5.56b	5.83A	6.03	5.70	5.86A
	Choighati	18.7	18.3	18.5B	4.95cd	4.71d	4.83C	5.43	4.93	5.18C
	Digram	20.0	19.5	19.8B	4.92cd	4.85cd	4.88C	5.58	5.52	5.55B
	Jogonnathpur	22.2	21.3	21.8A	5.48b	5.17bc	5.33B	5.57	5.41	5.49B
	Mean	20.8	20.3		5.36a	5.07b		5.65a	5.39b
	LS	L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = *			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS
	CV%	7.3			7.5			16.3

NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; LS = Level of significance [** and * mean significant at 1% and 5%, respectively]; NS = Not significant; CV = Coefficient of variation; L = Locations; T = Transplanting methods (NT or PT). US$1 = Tk. 78. Values with the same capital letter in columns for location means and a small letter in a row for means of the transplanting methods are not significantly different by DMRT.

Table 8. Economics for on farm experiments of aman season rice.

		Gross production cost (US$ ha^−1)			Gross income (US$ ha^−1)			Net return (US$ ha^−1)
Year	Location (L)	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean
2013	Alipur	947	838	944	1124	1124	1124	109	108	109
	LS	NS			NS			NS
	CV%	11.9			13.5			35.7
2014	Alipur	964	966	965C	1132	1091	1111b	73	39	56B
	Digram	1014	993	1004AB	1124	1126	1125b	11	50	31C
	Jogonnathpur	1021	997	1009A	1340	1297	1319a	226	2090	217A
	Durbachor	994	978	986B	1188	1114	1151b	123	54	88B
	Mean	998a	983b		1196a	1157b		108	88
	LS	L = **, T = *, L x T = NS			L = **, T = *, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS
	CV%	12.4			16.4			81.7
2015	Alipur	899i	973ef	936D	977	968	972B	4	−83	−39B
	Choighati	986de	1060a	1023A	997	946	971B	−69	−195	−132CD
	Digram	955gh	991d	973C	1077	1051	1064A	53	−9	22A
	Jogonnathpur	945h	1007c	975C	943	943	943BC	−79	−202	−110C
	Durbachor	968fg	1010bc	989B	877	875	876D	−161	−202	−181E
	Sutiakhali	957gh	1021b	987B	920	893	907CD	−109	202	−156DE
	Mean	951b	1010a		965	946		−60a	−139b
	LS	L = **, T = **, L x T = **			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS
	CV%	11.2			15.4			−54.5

NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; LS = Level of significance [** and * mean significant at 1 and 5%, respectively]; NS = Not significant; CV = Coefficient of variation; L = Locations; T = Transplanting methods (NT or PT). US$1 = Tk. 78. Values with that same capital letter in columns for location means and small letters in a row for means of the transplanting methods are not significantly different by DMRT.

Table 9. Economics for on farm experiments of boro season rice.

		Gross production cost (US$ ha^−1)			Gross income (US$ ha^−1)			Net return (US$ ha^−1)
Year	Location (L)	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean	NT	PT	Mean
2013	Alipur	1013	1041	1027B	1548	151	1530B	483	417	450B
	Digram	1026	1056	1041A	1382	1304	1343C	3036	197	250C
	Durbachor	1001	1037	1020BC	1261	1204	1232D	200	106	153D
	Kalitola	987	1028	1008C	1698	1628	1663A	656	548	602A
	Mean	1007b	1041a		1473	1412		411a	317b
	LS	L = **, T = **, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS
	CV%	11.6			17.3			29.6
2014	Alipur	1072	1148	1110	1470	1471	1471a	338	268	303A
	Choighati	1080	1090	1085	918	1092	1005d	−11	−115	−63CD
	Digram	1093	1153	1123	1167	1132	1149BC	−22	−75	−26D
	Sutiakhali	1099	1172	1176	1106	1047	1077CD	−40	173	−106D
	Durbachor	1093	1177	1135	1158	1138	1138BC	27	−59	−16C
	Kalitola	1087	1157	1119	1266	1212	1239B	154	22	88B
	Mean	1087b	1148a		1181	1185		82a	–22b
	LS	L = NS, T = **, L x T = NS			L = **, T = NS, L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS
	CV%	13.9			22.5			242
2015	Alipur	1007	1043	1025B	1680	1537	1608a	603	424	514A
	Choighati	969	1015	992D	1374	1303	1338c	329	213	271C
	Digram	995	1030	1012C	1370	1350	1360c	302	241	271C
	Jogonnathpur	1048	1115	1082A	1514	1431	1473b	397	1457	321B
	Mean	1005b	1051a		1485a	1406b		408a	281b
	LS	L = **, T = **, L x T = **			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS			L = **, T = **, L x T = NS
	CV%	11.3			17.1			29.5

NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; LS = Level of significance [** mean significant at 1%]; NS = Not significant; CV = Coefficient of variation; L = Locations; T = Transplanting methods (NT or PT). US$1 = Tk. 78. Values with the same capital letter in columns for location means and small letters in a row for means of the transplanting methods are not significantly different by DMRT.

Table 10. Cost of actual different inputs and outputs (US$ ha⁻¹).

	2013		2014		2015
Inputs and outputs (unit)	Aman	Boro	Aman	Boro	Aman	Boro
Land preparation cost for puddled transplanting (US$ ha^−1)	83.65	83.29 (64.42–105.77)	91.35 (67.31–105.77)	95.10 (81.73–105.76)	93.44 (67.31–105.77)	103.37 (81.73–144.23)
Land preparation cost (single pass with VMP) (ha^−1) in the case of NT	28.85	28.85	33.65 (28.85–38.46)	28.85 (25.99–38.46)	35.99 (28.85–38.46)	36.26 (33.65–38.46)
Seedlings cost (ha^−1)	115.38	81.73	81.73	72.12	67.30	76.92
Urea^(a) fertilizer cost (kg^−1)	0.21	0.21	0.21	0.21	0.21	0.21
Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP)^(b) fertilizer cost (kg^−1)	0.35	0.35	0.35	0.35	0.35	0.36
Murate of potash (MoP) ^(c) fertilizer cost (kg^−1)	0.19	0.19	0.19	0.19	0.19	0.19
Gypsum^(d) fertilizer cost (kg^−1)	0.09	0.09	0.09	0.09	0.09	0.09
Zinc sulphate^(e) fertilizer cost (kg^−1)	1.53 (1.15–1.92)	1.54 (1.28–1.92)	1.28	1.41 (1.15–1.92)	1.28	1.71 (1.28–1.92)
Boron^(f) fertilizer cost (kg^−1)	2.5 (2.31–2.56)	2.5 (2.31–2.56)	2.50 (2.31–2.56)	2.76 (2.31–3.85)	2.31	3.08 (2.31–3.85)
Irrigation water cost (ha^−1) NT	32.59 (0–67.31)	211.53	20.83 (0–57.69)	201.92	38.46	177.88 (163.46–192.31)
Irrigation water cost (ha^−1) PT	30.45 (0–61.30)	215.53	31.25 (0–67.92)	201.92	57.69	177.88 (163.46–192.31)
Pre-planting herbicide, round-up (glyphosate) herbicide cost (l^−1)	4.49	4.49	4.49	4.49	4.49	4.49
Labour cost (person day^−1)	3.85	3.85	3.69 (3.21–3.85)	3.53 (2.56–3.85)	3.46 (2.82–3.85)	3.69 (3.21–3.85)
Contractual harvesting and threshing cost (ha^−1)	168.27	192.31	192.31	182.69	173.08	193.72 (163.46–217.18)
Post-planting herbicide (Pretilachlor) cost (kg^−1)	8.65	8.65	8.65	8.65	8.65	8.65
Post-planting herbicide (Pyrazosulfuron ethyl 20 WP) cost (kg^−1)	4.80	4.80	4.80	4.80	4.80	4.80
Virtako 40 WG (Thiamethoxam + Chlorantraniliprole) cost (kg^−1)	282.05	282.05	282.05	282.05	282.05	282.05
Imidacloprid cost (l^−1)	24.36	24.36	24.36	24.36	24.36	24.36
Rent of the land (ha^−1)	384.62	230.76	346.15	288.46	288.46	211.56 (182.69–240–39)
Sale price of rice (t^−1)	256.41	243.59	230.76	230.77	205.13	256.41
Sale price of straw (t^−1)	25.64	19.23	19.23	12.82	12.82	19.22

Note: Numbers in the cells denote the average price and numbers in parenthesis represent the range (minimum and maximum) of the inputs and outputs price. ^(a) See Table 1 for fertilizer composition.

Figure 3. Number of tillage passes and cost of tillage and levelling for land preparation in aman (upper) and boro (lower) season rice cultivation at different locations in Bangladesh.

Figure 4. Source of labour for aman (upper) and boro (lower) season rice cultivation. Dots and diagonal bricks in the bars represent the family and hired labour (person-days ha⁻¹), respectively. NT = Non-puddled transplanting of rice seedling; PT = Conventionally puddled transplanting of rice seedling; AliPr = Alipur, DiGrm = Digram, JgnthPr = Jogonnathpur, DbrChr = Durbachor, ChoGti = Choighati, KliTla = Kalitola, SutKli = Sutiakhali.

Figure 5. Relationship between grain yield for non-puddled transplanting (NT) and puddled transplanting (PT) of rice with [A] number of effective tillers and [B] thousand grain mass for 2015 boro rice.

Figure 6. Ranking of individual farmers’ rice grain yield (t ha⁻¹) (aman rice [A] and boro rice [C]) and net return (aman rice [B] and boro rice [D]). Sites are ordered by net returns from low (left) to high (right) for NT [blue line with closed circles] for 2013, 2014 and 2015. Paired PT crops are shown underneath for each site by orange-coloured bars.

Figure 7. Percentage of farmers’ with positive or negative perceptions about aspects of non-puddled transplanting (NT) from focus group discussions in three locations after each of six seasons. The percentage values are for the whole group in each location and season.