When seasonal conditions are not favorable the crop growth usually gets retarded. In situations of unfavorable seasonal conditions some agronomical practices are to be modified and contingency plans are to be worked out to over-come the adverse affects in growth. Modified Practices Delayed monsoon Rain When the South West monsoon rains are delayed in Kharif season application of  one kg of Muriate of Potash for every 5 cents of nursery imparts drought  tolerence in the event of limited supply of irrigation water to nursery beds. Growing of short duration varieties has to be taken up since the long and mid  duration varieties are not suitable for planting beyond 15th August. Close planting has to be followed by maintaining 65 to 80 hills / sq.m. and 3-4  seedlings per hill. Avoid Nitrogen application in nurseries when the seedlings are over aged as this  is found to have adverse effect on yields. Phosphorous, Potash and Zinc should be applied as basal to the main field for  good establishment and growth. Application of Nitrogen (16 to 24 Kg/ac) may   be modified as follows. Basal application 2/3rd and 1/3rd at panicle initiation. Apply 2-4-D ( Ethyl Ester) 4 G @ 4kg /ac and Butachlor 5 G @ 4.0 Kg /ac. Three to five days after transplanting for effective weed control. Flowering is likely to be advanced by 15 to 20 days depending on the variety. Availability of sufficient soil moisture from Panicle Initiation to flowering is very  essential to realize satisfactory yields. Damage done to the crop due to non-  availability of soil moisture at this stage is irreversible. Carbendazime 0.1% (1 g/1) may be sprayed at an interval of ten days for the management of sheath blight and blast. Leaf folder, green leafhopper, stem borer, gall midge are likely to infest the rice  crop from last week of August. Monocrotophos @ 300 ml/acre (1.5 ml/l) or Chlorpyriphos @ 400 ml/acre (2.0 ml/l) may be sprayed as soon as incidence is noticed keeping in view of the ETL. Late release of canal water Due to late release of canal water the sowing of nurseries and planting of rice is likely to be delayed beyond the cut-off date 15th July and the rice yield of popular long duration varieties are reduced by 15% to 30%. The pest and disease incidence is likely to increase. To get normal yield the following practices are recommended. Varieties like MTU 2400, MTU 1001, Swarna, and Chaitanya to be preferred. Shallow planting of 25 days aged seedlings @ 4 to 6 per hill and increase the plant density from 33 to 44 hills/m2. Increase N level by 50% and apply in three equal splits (Basal, 20 after transplanting and Panicle Initiation) in case of long duration cultivars, 2/3rd basal and 1/3rd at 25 days after transplanting Carbendazime 0.1% (1g/Lit) may be sprayed at an interval of ten days for the management of sheath blight and blast. Leaf folder, green leafhopper, stem borer, gall midge are likely to infest the  rice crop from last week of August. Monocrotophos @ 320 ml/acre (1.6 ml/l)  or Chlorpyriphos @ 400 ml/acre (2.0 ml/l) may be sprayed as soon as incidence is noticed keeping in view of the ETL. Phosphorous, Potash and Zinc should be applied as basal to the main field  for good establishment and growth Apply 2-4-DEE 4 G @ 4kg /ac and Butachlor 5 G @ 4.0 Kg /ac Three to five  days after transplanting for effective weed control Heavy Rains & Water Logging In case if the paddy crop is caught in heavy rains due to cyclones etc. during harvesting time the grain get discolored and moulds may develop. Further the germination also get deteriorated. In such situations sprinkling  of powdered common salt on wet sheaves results in improvement in  germination capacity. The discoloration of grain and fungal development is also low. Completely damaged due to floods Wherever the crop is completely damaged replanting may be adopted Varieties like Swarna, BPT 1235, IR 64, IET 1444 can be taken up by raising nurseries immediately. The plantings should be done on or before 31st August. N, P, K at 60: 40: 30 Kg/ha is recommended. 50% of the recommended N  and entire P and K should be applied as basal dose before planting. 25%  of the N should be applied at 20 days after planting. A final dose of 25%  recommended dose (N) should be applied at PI stage. A Spacing of 15-x 15-cm (44 hills/m2) is to be adopted. If zinc deficiency is observed on standing crop, it should be corrected by spraying 0.2% zinc sulphate solution 2-3 times at 4 to 5 days interval. Leaf folder, green leafhopper, stem borer, gall midge are likely to infest the rice crop from last week of August. Monocrotophos @ 320 ml/acre (1.6 ml/l) or Chlorpyriphos @ 400 ml/acre (2.0 ml/l) may be sprayed as soon as incidence is noticed keeping in view of the ETL. Phosphorous, Potash and Zinc should be applied as basal to the main field  for good establishment and growth Apply 2-4-DEE 4 G @ 4kg /ac and Butachlor 5 G @ 4.0 Kg /ac Three to five days after transplanting for effective weed control Partially damaged by floods Wherever the crop is partially damaged, Gap filling has to be adopted. If seedlings are not available for gap filling, the survived hills are to be split into individual tillers and used for gap filling. Swarna and Chaitanya varieties performed well with split tillers and they withstood the submergence for about one week and survived with 2-3 tillers. A booster dose of 20-35 Kg of Urea and 15 Kg of Muriate of Potash per acre are  to be applied to hasten the establishment and promote more Tillering. Nitrogen at Panicle Initiation stage is to be applied as per normal recommendations keeping in view of the existing pest situation. The pests like leaf folder, stem borer, BPH, cutworm, neck blast and sheath blight are likely to occur. Recommended plant protection measures are to be taken up for their control. Prolonged moisture stress situation in Tank fed Areas In areas where the crop is in vegetative stage and if subjected to prolonged moisture stress, soon after receipt of good rain, split application of 4kg N/ac  and foliar application of 2% urea or Liquid Fertilizers (Polyfeed) is suggested  for speedy recovery. Leaf folder, green leafhopper, stem borer, gall midge are likely to infest the rice crop from last week of August. Monocrotophos @ 320 ml/acre (1.6 ml/l)  or Chlorpyriphos @ 400 ml/acre (2.0 ml/l) may be sprayed as soon as incidence is noticed keeping in view of the ETL. Phosphorous, Potash and Zinc should be applied as basal to the main field for  good establishment and growth Apply 2-4-DEE 4 G @ 4kg /ac and Butachlor 5 G @ 4.0 Kg /ac Three to five  days after transplanting for effective weed control. Drought Tolerant Varieties like Prabhavathi ,Rasi or MTU 9993 may be recommended the in place of traditional cultivators (Budama).

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