Abstract

Author:
Md. Ibrahim Ali, Sadid Md. Zaman, Nadira Akter Jothy, Mohammad Ferdous Ikbal, Motabber Rahman, Md. Mahamudul Hasan, Milon kobir, Md. Aktarul Islam, Israt Jahan Jany, Md.Tanjilur Rahman Mondal, M.S. Haque, Sarkar M. J, Shams-Al-Mahmud, Md. Mahbubul Alam

Doi: 10.26480/trab.01.2026.08.16

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

A series of field experiments were conducted across diverse agro-ecological zones of Bangladesh including drought prone areas Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj, flood affected deep water ecosystems Gopalganj and upland jhum systems in the Chottogram Hill Tracts to evaluate the performance of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) relative to conventional puddled (PTR) and unpuddled transplanting (UPTR). Results demonstrated that PTR remains the most profitable and higher yield amoung establishment method under current management, with superior benefit cost ratios. UPTR provided intermediate performance, balancing water savings with acceptable yield levels, DSR generally recorded lower yields and profitability due to higher weed pressure, reduced straw yield and increased management costs. Field trials highlighted the potential of DSR when integrated with improved technologies and adapted genotypes. The deep water rice mutant line LD-200-1-3-3-4 achieved statistically higher grain yield (1.98 t ha⁻¹) under broadcasting in flood-prone Gopalganj and Binadhan-21 outperformed other aus rice genotypes in the jhum ecosystem under integrated management. Mechanized and precise planting at lower seed rate (20–25 kg ha⁻¹) demonstrate yield stability, the importance of precision seeding, land leveling and seed treatment. Integrated weed management strategies, site-specific nutrient management and irrigation scheduling tools were identified as critical interventions to overcome the major constraints of DSR, particularly weed infestation. Collectively, the findings suggest that DSR method faces agronomic and economic limitation, it holds considerable promise as a resource conserving, climate resilient and labor-saving technology. The future of DSR in Bangladesh lies in genotype, management and environment integration, ensuring that the system economically viable and environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional rice establishment methods.