Seedling Stand Influenced by Water Management after Seeding and Seed Soaking with Plant Growth Regulators in Direct Wet Seeding Rice

Unstable seedling stand establishment of wet direct seeding culture of rice is one of the major elements preventing the extension of its culture area. In order to develop methods of seedling stand improvement in direct seeded rice on flooded surfaces, three field experiments were conducted on silty loam soil using a cultivar 'Donjinbyeo' for three years, mainly focusing on water management after seeding and seed soaking with plant growth regulators (PGRs). Under the condition of shallow flooding after seeding, seedling stand rate increased and floating seedling rate decreased in both early and normal season seeding compared to deep flooding. With earlier draining time after seeding, there was a tendency towards preferential growth of the seminal root, increase of seedling stand and decrease of the floating seedling rate. Therefore the highest seedling numbers per unit area and the lowest floating seedling numbers were found upon drainage at 1 day after seeding (DAS), while a contrary tendency was shown upon conventional drainage at 7 DAS. Seed soaking with PGRs such as Metalaxyl or mixing of Metalaxyl with gibberellic acid (GA$_3$) significantly increased the seedling stand. In addition the effects of PGR treatment on seedling stand and the early growth of plants were greater under flooded conditions than under drained conditions after seeding, although draining of water after seeding improved the seedling establishment rate more when compared with the PGR treatment. These results suggest that draining management after seeding or maintaining of shallow flooding for a week is the most effective method to improve the seedling stand rate in wet direct seeding.