Plant Production Science

ISSN: 1343-943X (Print) 1349-1008 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tpps20

Rice Direct Seeding Method with Recycled-paper

Mulching

Hideto Ueno, Motoko Shimura & Minoru Yamauchi

To cite this article: Hideto Ueno, Motoko Shimura & Minoru Yamauchi (1999) Rice Direct
Seeding Method with Recycled-paper Mulching, Plant Production Science, 2:1, 53-57

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1626/pps.2.53

© 1999 Taylor & Francis

Published online: 03 Dec 2015.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 15

View related articles

Citing articles: 1 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tpps20

Download by: [195.154.90.122] Date: 19 March 2016, At: 06:40

 Plant Prod. Sci. 2 (1) : 53-57 (1999)

Agronomy

Rice Direct Seeding Method with Recycled-paper Mulching

Hideto U enG *, Motoko Shimura and Minoru Yamauchi

(Chugoku National Agricultural Experiment Station, 6-12-1 Nishzjukatsu, Fukuyama 721-8514, Japan)
Accepted 8 July 1998

Abstract: We developed a new direct hill seeding method, paper-mulched direct seeding (PMDS). In this method,
recycled-paper sheets with rice (Oryza Sativa L.) seeds affixed are spread over a flooded paddy field just after puddling
and leveling. Three or five rice seeds were sandwiched between biodegradable gauze or non-woven mesh, fixed to a
hole (25 mm diameter) arranged on the sheet at a distance corresponding to the planting density. The sheet gave a
very high percentage (98.3%) of germination in water culture of cultivar, Koshihikari. Koshihikari sown by the PMDS
method showed a relatively high percentage of seedling establishment, ranging from 70 to 80%. Moreover, a high
stability of seedling establishment was obtained by the PMDS method as compared with lowland hill seeding of
non-germinated seeds without use of the oxygen supplying chemical, calcium peroxide. Frequencies of vacant hills in
Downloaded by [195.154.90.122] at 06:40 19 March 2016

the PMDS plot of 5 cultivars, Akitakomachi, Dontokoi, Hinohikari, Hitomebore and Koshihikari, were very low,
ranging from 0.40 to 2.33%. Although no herbicide was applied in the PMDS plot, only a few weeds, i.e., Scripus
juncoides Roxb. var. ohwians T. koyama and Eleocharis kuroguwai Ohwi were observed, indicating that herbicides are not
required in the PMDS. Little lodging was seen in the PMDS plot. The brown rice yield by the PMDS was 615 g m- 2 •
These results clearly demonstrate that the PMDS is useful for hill seeding in flooded paddy fields.

Key words: Direct seeding, Environmental conservation, Labor saving, Paper-mulch, Rice, Seedling establishment,
Weed control.

The method of rice cultivation using recycled-paper
mulching was developed by Tsuno et al. (1993) to avoid
herbicide application. The paper mulch sheet is
produced from used cardboard paper and a sufficient
amount of the material paper would be supplied from
industries. The cultivating method has been improved
from various view points, i. e., weed control (Kobayashi
et al., 1995; Tsuno et al., 1993 ; Yutani et al., 1993), the
development of the exclusive transplanter (Mitani,
1995), economics, pathogen control (Tsuno et al., 1993),
relation between fertilization and environment (Deno,
1996), climate adaptation, and the growth of rice
(Kobayashi et al., 1993). Especially, sheath blight dis-
ease was noticeably controlled by mulching (Tsuno et
al., 1993). The paper mulch sheet and the exclusive
transplanting machine are commercially available and
the method has become a part of the herbicide-free rice
culturing system in japan. Exemplary good farmers tend
to employ this system because the rice cultivated by the
method is marketed at a higher price than others and the
risk involved in handling herbicide would be eliminated.
However, in japan, there are many paddy fields where
the exclusive transplanter can not be operated because
the size of the field is too small, the top layer of the soil
is too deep for the transplanter operation, and the trans-
fer of the machine from field to field is difficult. More-
Corresponding author: H. Ueno (uenoh@agr.ehime-u.ac.jp, fax +81-89-993-3173, present address; University Farm, College of
Agriculture, Ehime University, Hattanji, Hojo, Ehime 799-2424, japan). This work was presented at the 38th Meeting of the Chugoku
Branch of the Crop Science Society of japan on july 1997.
Abbreviations: PMDS, paper-mulched direct seeding; HSFPF, hill seeding in flooded paddy field.
over, the cost of the transplanter is much higher than an
ordinary one.
So we developed a new direct seeding method with
recycled-paper mulching, which would save labor, skill
and cost, and does not require further equipment for
raising of seedlings and transplanting. In this paper, a
possibility of practical use of the paper-mulched direct
seeding (PMDS) is described.
Materials and Methods
1. Preparation of paper-mulched direct seeding
sheet and performance test
A cross section of the PMDS sheet is schematically
shown in Fig. 1. Three or five seeds of rice, Oryza Sativa
L., cv. Akitakomachi, Dontokoi, Hinohikari, Hitomebore
and Koshihikari awned and selected by specific gravity
with salt solution (1.10, except 1.13 for Koshihikari in
1996), were sandwiched between 2 sheets of 5 em square
size of gauze (Type 3, 25 yarns per inch) or non-woven
mesh (Bemliese, Asahi Chemical Industry, Co., Ltd.),
made of cotton. Then, they were fixed to holes (25 mm
diameter) arranged on a paper-mulch sheet (160 em
wide, 100 m long and 20 kg weight, Kami-syoji Co., Ltd.)
at intervals corresponding to planting density (15 em X
30 em). A heat-melting type glue (STE-211, Hirodine
Co., Ltd., Fuchu-City, Hiroshima pref., japan) was used

NII-Electronic Library Service

 54 Plant Production Science Vol. 2, 1999
Rice seeds Recycled-paper mulching sheet
U-:.. ~~~,~~~~-~,' " \
non-woven mesh Heat-melting type glue
Fig. 1. A cross section scheme of the mulch-paper sheet for direct
seeding.
as an adhesive. Finally the sheet was rolled up (Fig. 2).
In the first experiment, the sheet (20 cm X 30 cm) was
sunk in a container with 1 cm depth of purified water
(Milli-Q, Millipore Co., Ltd.) and incubated at 2SOC for
7 days to investigate the performance of the sheet. The
frequency of germination and that of vacant hills were
examined.
Downloaded by [195.154.90.122] at 06:40 19 March 2016
2. Field experiment
The experiment was conducted at the experimental
paddy fields of Chugoku National Agricultural Experi-
ment Station, Fukuyama City, located in Midwest Japan.
The paddy soil, fine textured Gray Lowland soil (C: 1.
3% and N: 0.13%), was fertilized with 8 gN m- 2 of
controlled-release coated urea (140 days type) as a single
basal dressing. Potassium and phosphate were simultane-
ously applied at a rate of 8 g m- 2 as K 20 and P 205'
respectively.
3. Seedling establishment test
In 1996, the frequency of seedling establishment and
vacant hills were compared between the PMDS plot and
hill seeding in flooded paddy field (HSFPF) plot. A rice
cultivar Koshihikari was used. The field for PMDS plot,
the field was puddled just after fertilization and minimal
irrigation, then the PMDS sheets (3 seeds per hill) were
spread out. In the field for HSFPF, 3 dry seeds per hill
were sown onto the soil surface with the same density as
the PMDS plot. Each plot consisted of 3 sections of 4.8
m 2 each and was not applied with calcium peroxide.
Part of the sheet (lOcm) tucked in soil
Paddy soil
Paper mulched direct seeding sheet Flooded water
Fig. 3. Scheme of the spreading of the mulch-paper sheet for
direct seeding.
(A) : one side tucking in soil, (B) : both sides tucking in soil.
... ~
Width: 1.6m
Length: 50 or 100m
--- ---
.: Hole to affix
I Weight: 10.7 or 21.4 kg
Planting space: 15cm x 30cm
of rice seeds
Fig. 2. General view of the mulch-paper sheet for direct seeding.
Each section in each plot was arranged alternately. The
water level was maintained deeper than 5 cm. After 12
days, at the stage of the 3-4th leaf expansion, the number
of seedlings established per hill and that of vacant hills in
each section were counted. The seeds were sown on July
10, when the average temperature of air and water was
27.7 and 28.3°C, respectively.
In 1997, the frequencies of vacant hills were examined
in paddy fields using Akitakomachi, Dontokoi, Hinohi-
kari, Hitomebore and Koshihikari. The PMDS and
HSFPF plots each consisted of more than 11 fields of 4.
5 m 2 , and 100 hills each. The number of vacant hills per
field in each plot was counted and analyzed statistically,
except for the fields damaged by birds. Koshihikari and
Akitakomachi were seeded on June 10 and Dontokoi,
Hinohikari and Hitomebore on June 11. The vacant hill
frequency in each plot was measured on July 14 at the
stage of the 6th leaf expansion.
4. Yields and lodging test
Grain yield and lodging of Koshihikari and weed
damage in the PMDS plot were examined in 14 fields of
5.7 m 2 each. The PMDS sheets (5 seeds per hill) were
spread on the field under the same conditions as the
above test and one or both sides of 10 cm edge of the
sheet were simultaneously tucked in the soil (Fig. 3).
Then, the field was submerged to deeper than 5 cm. No
herbicide was applied.
The seeds were sown on June 24, 1996, when the
average temperature of air and water was 19.2 and 18.6
°c, respectively. Seedling establishment was examined on
July 8. Heading was on Aug. 7 and harvesting was on
Sep. 20. The rice was sorted (1. 7 mm) and the yield was
calculated as 15% of moisture content. Lodging was
classified with index ranging from 0 (no lodging) to 5
(all plants lodged).
Results
The seed of Koshihikari set in PMDS sheet and placed
in water germinated very well. The germination rate was
over 96.0%, and no vacant hills were observed (Table
1). An ordinal expansion of roots and their penetration
through the mesh were confirmed.
In 1996, the percentages of seeding establishment per
hill and vacant hill, grain yield, weed and lodging were
investigated in the field of Koshihikari. Fig. 4 shows the
percentage of seedling establishment in the PMDS
NII-Electronic Library Service
 Deno et al. --Development of Paper-mulched Direct Seeding 55

Table 1. Germination of seeds of Koshihikari set in the mulch-paper sheet in water culture.
Trial
Average
2 3 4
Germination percentage per hill 98.7% 98.7% 100.0% 96.0% 98.3%
Confidence limit* ±2.6% ±2.6% ±O.O% ±4.2% ±2.4%
Frequency of vacant hill 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
The sheets were placed in containers with pure water, in a incubator at 25°C for 7 days.
* n = 15, P= 0.05. Five seeds were sown per hill.

Table 2. Percentages of the seedlings established per hill and vacant hills in the paper-mulched direct
seeding plot of Koshihikari.
Plot
Average
2 3 4
No. of hills 123 112 125 118 120
Seedling establishment 76% 67% 78% 71% 72%
Confidence limit* ±4.0% ±5.3% ±4.0% ±3.5% ±4.0%
Vacant hill 0.0% 1.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.45%
Downloaded by [195.154.90.122] at 06:40 19 March 2016

Five seeds were sown per hill.

*p=O.01.

and the HSFPF plots. The average values in the PMDS

and the HSFPF plots were 78.1 (n = 241) and 66.1 %
(n= 180), respectively. U test of Mann-Whitney, a
non-parametric statistics method, indicates that the rate
in the PMDS plot was significantly (p=0.0012) higher
than that in the HSFPF plot. In the HSFPF plot, the
rates varied with the field widely from 42.1 to 90.3% and
the differences among the fields were significant at the
1% level. In the PMDS plot, by contrast, the range of the
percentage of seedling establishment was narrow from
76.5 to 79.2%, and no significant difference was obser-
ved among them (p=O.Ol). Frequency of vacant hills in
the HSFPF plot (8.9%) was higher than that in the
PMDS (0.41%) plot. These results indicate that the rate
of seedling establishment in the PMDS plot was higher
than that in the HSFPF plot.
Grain yield, lodging and the number of weeds in the
PMDS plot were investigated in the other field. The
percentages of seedling establishment and vacant hills in
this field are shown in Table 2, and were similar to the
values shown in Fig. 4. The frequency distribution of the
number of seedlings established per hill which contained
5 seeds is shown in Fig. 5. In the PMDS plot, most of the
hills had 3 or 4 seedlings established per hill and the sum
of such hills amounted to 77%. The grain yield was
615 g m- 2 with 27 g m- 2 of the confidence limit at 5%
(n = 14). Lodging damage at harvest was graded from
index 0 (no) to 2 (slight damage). A few plants (less
than 1 plant 10 m- 2 ) of Scripus juncoides Roxb. var.
ohwianus T. Koyama and Eleocharis kuroguwai Ohwi were
observed around 50 days after seeding, when the paper
sheet had almost degraded. However, no gramineous
weeds were observed.
In 1997, the frequency of vacant hills in 5 rice cultivars
was investigated in a field test (Table 3). The frequency
II ill
Repetition in PMDS
Fig. 4. Percentage of the seedlings established per hill in the hill
seeding in flooded paddy field without calcium peroxide
(HSFPF) and paper-mulched direct seeding (PMDS) with
Koshihikari.
Three fields were used for each plot with 3 seeds per hill.
Vertical bars show the 1% confidence limit. Bars having the
same letter at each section are not significantly different at the
I % level by Bonferroni multiple comparison procedure.
of vacant hills were very low, ranging from 0.40 to 2.33%
in all cultivars. Significant differences in the frequency of
vacant hills were observed by Sheffe's test between
Akitakomachi and Dontokoi (p = 0.05), Hinohikari and
Hitomebore (p = 0.05), and Dontokoi and Hinohikari
(p = 0.01). However, the differences among the cultivars
were very small.
No problems occurred by spreading the PMDS sheet
over the paddy field as shown in Fig. 3-A, except for
floating of the sheet. All the floating sheets sunk within
a week after seeding, when the seeds started germination.
Rainfall seemed to effectively submerge the sheet in
water. When both sides of the sheet edge were tucked
into soil as shown in Fig 3-B, the sheet was fixed tightly
on the paddy field and was not moved by strong winds
or irrigation water. More than 40 - 50 days after seeding,
the paper-mulch was degraded and indistinguishable

NII-Electronic Library Service

 56 Plant Production Science Vol. 2, 1999

Table 3. Comparison among rice cultivars in the frequency of vacant hills in paper-mulched direct seeding
(Field test, 1977).
Cultivar
Akitakomachi Dontokoi Hinohikari Hitomebore Koshihikari
No. of plot a 16 12 15 11 11
Frequency of vacant hills 0.81% 2.33% 0.40% 1.82% 0.82%
Confidence limit b ±0.57% ±0.50% ±O.42% ±0.58% ±0.58%
Five seeds were sown in most hills.
aO ne hundred hills per 4.5 m 2 plot.
bp=0.05.

from soil. 50

Discussion 40
~
In this study, we used a heat-melting glue to adhere ~
'-"
the sheets of non-woven mesh and recycled paper ;>-. 30
u
~
because among the various types we tested; 1) it gave Q)
;:l
Downloaded by [195.154.90.122] at 06:40 19 March 2016

enough strength to support the rice seeds in the holes in 0"'

Q)
20
I-<
the sheet for at least 2 weeks under wet condition, 2) it ~

was harmlessness to germination and seedling establish- 10

ment, and 3) it was flexible and remained effective after
ever after the sheet was rolled up. Recently a biodegrada-
ble hot-melting type glue has been developed but it was
not available for this study.
The most disadvantageous factor in direct seeding is
the inconstancy of seedling establishment due to the
diversities in seed vigor, sowing depth, soil surface condi-
tion, soil type and water level (Yamauchi et al., 1993;
Yamauchi and Chuong, 1995). An oxygen supplying
chemical, calcium peroxide, partly overcomes this
demerit. In this study, however, a sufficient level of
seedling establishment and a low frequency of vacant
hills was obtained in the PMDS plot without the use of
calcium peroxide (Tables 2 and 3, and Fig. 5). Moreover,
the rate of seedling establishment in the PMDS plot was
higher than that in the HSFPF plot and was stable in all
experimental sections in the field (Fig. 4). However, even
under a favorable temperature for seedling establish-
ment, the rates of seedling establishment in the HSFPF
plot varied with the field. Disparity of field conditions,
such as unevenness of soil surface and irregular distribu-
tion of organic matter, soil microorganisms or substances
released from soil, might affect the germination and
establishment of seedlings in the HSFPF plot. The
PMDS sheet is considered to reduce such disadvanta-
geous effects. A rather high proliferation of algae was
observed in the HSFPF plot. However, the factors
responsible for the stable high seedling establishment
rate in the PMDS are uncertain and remain to be inves-
tigated further.
Three or four seedlings were established per hill when
5 seeds were sown per hill in the PMDS sheet (Fig. 5).
This number is similar to that in the ordinary transplant-
ing culture. However the proper number of seeds to be
set in each hill should be examined from the viewpoint of
yield, growth, health and economics.
0
0 2 3 4 5
No. of seedlings established per hill
Fig. 5. Number of Koshihikari seedlings established per hill in
paper-mulched direct seeding.
Five seeds were sown per hill. Vertical bars show the standard
errors.
Many workers have reported that the paddy field with
recycled-paper mulching lowered the need of weeding
and of herbicide application (Kobayashi et al., 1995;
Tsuno et al., 1993), in agreement with this study.
Although a few weeds, Scripus juncoides Roxb. var.
ohwianus T. Koyama and Eleocharis kuroguwai Ohwi, were
observed in the field, they did not lower the rice grain
yield, because of the delayed weed occurrence and low
weed density, presumably resulting from the shading by
rice plants.
High tolerance to lodging was observed in the PMDS
plot. This is probably because of vigorous root spread
and vigorous tillering. Shimotsubo and Togashi (1996)
reported that the lodging tolerance in hill seeding was as
high as that in transplanting culture, presumably due to
vigorous root spread in hill seeding.
In this study, a nitrogen fertilizer, controlled-release
coated urea, was used as a single basal dressing because
split dressing of easily soluble fertilizers was expected to
decrease the fertilizer efficiencies after mulching. The
single basal dressing with controlled-release coated urea
provides substantial labor saving, high utilization effi-
ciency of the fertilizer, and may reduce the loss to
agricultural water and air (Deno, 1996; Deno and
Yamamuro, 1996).
Because of the advantage in curtailment of the cost for
raising seedling, much attention has been paid to direct

NII-Electronic Library Service

 Deno et al. --Development of Paper-mulched Direct Seeding
seeding for rice cultivation. However some difficulties, i.
e., unstable establishment of seedling, weed and bird
damage, and lodging, have hindered the spreading of the
direct seeding in Japan and other Asian countries. The
PMDS presented here seems to be an effective method to
overcome the above difficulties of direct seeding and is
considered to be a useful system for the paddy field.
However, further studies must be carried out for the
development of mulching machines and implements,
matching of seed variety and fertilization, and quality of
the product.
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank Dr. S. Yamamuro, Mrs. E. Takaga-
ki, Mr. Y. Kobatake, Mr. A. Goto, Mr. T. Fujii and Mr.
K. Fujimura for their helpful assistance and suggestions
about the development of the PMDS system. We are also
grateful to Mr. S. Kozai for helping field experiments.
Downloaded by [195.154.90.122] at 06:40 19 March 2016
References
Kobayashi, K, Miyata, K. and Ito, K 1993. Cultivation of rice
plants using recycled paper. III. Effect of recycled paper on
fertilizer efficiency and growth of rice plants. Jpn. J. Crop Sci.
62 (Extra issue 1) : 32-33 *.
Kobayashi, K, Yutani, K and Ito, K 1995. Paddy weed control
and rice cultivation method by recycled paper-mulching. J.
Agric. Sci. 50: 168-173*.
Mitani, S. 1995. Development of a mulching transplanter using
recycled paper. I. Prototype mulching rice transplanter using
recycled paper and its characteristics. Bull. Tottori Agric. Exp.
Stn. 25: 1-7**.
57
Shimotsubo, K and Togashi, T. 1996. Studies on submerged direct
seeding combined puddling with seeding operation. II. Differ-
ences in the lodging tolerance of rice plant between hill
seeding and stripe seeding. Jpn. J. Crop Sci. 65 (Extra issue
1) : 14-15*.
Tsuno, Y, Yamaguchi, T., Nakano, J. and Kawakami, H. 1993.
Theoretical base of the rice cultivation with recycled paper-
mulching and its application. Jpn. J. Crop Sci. 62 (Extra issue
1) : 28-29*.
Deno, H. 1996. Effect of paper-mulching and controlled-release
coated urea application on nitrogen dynamics in soil. Agric.
Hort. 71 : 50-54*.
Deno, H. and Yamamuro, S. 1996. Nitrogen dynamics in a paddy
field fertilized with controlled-release coated urea by 15N_
tracer. In T. Attanandana et al. eds., Proc. Int. Symp. on
Maximizing Sustainable Rice Yields through Improved Soil
and Environmental Management. Funny Publishing Ltd.
Partnership, Khon Kaen. 857-865.
Yamauchi, M., Aguilar, A.M., Vaughan, D.A. and Seshu, D.V.
1993. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm suitable for direct
sowing under flooded soil surface. Euphytica 67 : 177-184.
Yamauchi, M. and Chuong, p.v. 1995. Rice seedling establish-
ment as affected by cultivar, seed coating with calcium perox-
ide, sowing depth, and water level. Field Crops Res. 41 : 123-
134.
Yutani, K., Kobayashi, K, Mitani, S. and Ito, K 1993. Cultivation
of rice plants using recycled paper. II. Effects on the growing
of some paddy field weeds. Jpn. J. Crop Sci. 62 (Extra issue
1) : 30-31*.
*In Japanese.
**In Japanese with English summary.
NII-Electronic Library Service