*2.4. Water Management in the Main Field*

During the first 3 wk after transplanting, soil was kept saturated to promote better seedling establishment. Thereafter, water management based on safe AWD practice was used at the vegetative stage and after the flowering stage, where timing of irrigation was based on water depth in the field water tubes installed in each plot. This was done by irrigating the plots only when field water depths in the field were about 15 cm below the ground surface. During the flowering stage, plots were under continuous flooding (1–5 cm depth) to avoid possible yield losses. Water stress at the flowering stage may induce spikelet sterility and will thus result in yield loss. Near the end of crop maturity (10–15 d before harvesting), terminal drainage was implemented.
