Second Flowering in Oryza sativa (var. indica)

Abstract

IN India rice is normally harvested when ripe by cutting off the leaves and stems near ground-level. Shortly before this operation the field is allowed to dry. There is very little regeneration, though it is well known that rice can be propagated vegetatively by ‘ratooning’. In 1958 three small plots of 5.2 square metres each at Giridih in Bihar were planted with the aus (rapidly maturing) variety CH-10 in July. Owing to the late monsoon the crop was poor. Instead of drying and cutting as usual, the plots were not allowed to dry, and the ears were plucked by hand on October 10. The plots produced a second crop which was harvested on November 23 by the usual method. Table 1 shows the yield of paddy for two harvests of the three plots.