Integrated nutrient-weed management under mechanised dry direct seeding (DDS) is essential for sustained smallholder adoption in rainfed lowland rice (Oryza Sativa L.)

To assure stable productivity at a level comparable with or superior to transplanting, DDS management must ensure rice seedlings have access to nutrients in order to be competitive with weeds, which must also be suppressed. This paper examined farmer perceptions of DDS using a farmer survey, and used on-farm experiments to examine responses of rainfed lowland rice to integrated nutrient-weed management, based around mechanised DDS.

In the survey, weeds were the biggest problem faced by farmers in using DDS (61%). In 90% of cases, farmers reported that weeds had increased under DDS, with most farmers (78%) controlling weeds by hand. All farmers said they would use DDS in the following season (100%), due to labour savings (47%), timeliness of operations, improved productivity, low investment or a combination of these (44%).