2.2.2. Data on Seed Rates

Along with the area under paddy, our estimates will also require the seed rates for paddy cultivation. Generally, the seed rate is understood as the quantity of seed that is required to sow a unit area of land for optimum crop-production. The seed rates vary with the methods of crop establishment by farmers. In India, there are three primary ways of establishing rice for cultivation; *dry seeding, wet seeding* and *transplanting* [28,29]. In the dry seeding method, the dry seeds are sown by either broadcasting, i.e., scattered across the field; drilling, wherein the seeds are drilled manually or mechanically into the field; or dibbling, which is practiced along the mountain slopes using traditional methods and tools to sow the seeds [28]. In the wet-seeding method, pre-germinated seeds are sown in wet puddled soils using the same techniques as broadcasting or drilling. Both the dry- and wet-seeding methods are collectively known as the *direct seeding method*, as the seeds are sown directly using broadcasting, drilling and dibbling [28].

In the transplanting method, the seedlings are first grown in nurseries and later replanted to the main fields, which requires a lot of labour input. One of the reasons for employing such labour-intensive methods for rice cultivation is due to a higher labor supply resulting from population growth [30]. Alternatively, the incentives of adopting the direct seeding method increase when both labour and water availability is low, it and is especially adopted during the dry seasons or in dry regions. Given the higher proportion of rain-fed rice area in India, it has subsequently led to a lesser adoption of the direct seeding method in India [28,30,31]. Consequently, transplanting became a dominant method for rice establishment in India. The estimates of the percentage of total rice area established by direct seeding method reveals that only 28% of the total paddy area in India is established using this method [28]. Due to unavailability of data on the percentage of paddy area under different sowing methods, this paper assumes that 72% of total rice area in India is established using the transplanting method and 28% of the total rice area is established using the direct-seeding method, following from the above discussion. This is an important assumption in this study, as the seed rates for both the methods vary significantly.

Based on the above discussion, the data on seed rates for each state were collected from the reports published by the state department of agriculture, which includes the details of rice production and output. The data on seed rates based on the method of direct seeding/transplanting are presented for each state in Table 1 (below). For direct seeding, wherever data was available for broadcasting, dibbling or more, an average was calculated. It should be noted that, due to a lack of data on the seed rates for the states of Uttarakhand, Meghalaya and Rajasthan, the data for their neighbouring states were used. For instance, for Uttarakhand, the seed rates used for Uttar Pradesh were used; for Meghalaya, the seed rates of Assam were used; and for Rajasthan, only for direct sowing method, seed rates were unavailable and therefore the seed rates used in Gujarat were used. The final estimation for seed rates is done by taking weighted averaged of the two rice establishment methods, i.e., 28% is cultivated through direct seeding and 72% through transplanting. For example, (see Table 1): for the state of Madhya Pradesh the weighted average will be equivalent to: (80 × 0.28) + (50 × 0.72) = 61.5, where 0.28 is the percentage of direct seeded rice establishment area and 0.72 is the percentage of transplanted rice establishment area. This was done for all the states and the results are presented in Table 1 (column 3).


**Table 1.** Seed rates for different rice establishment method.
