PLANTING MATERIALS AND

PRACTICES

Prof. Dr. Md. Rashedur Rahman

Dept. of Agronomy, BAU
Planting Materials (Seed/Propagule)
Any part of a crop plant, either vegetative or
reproductive, that is planted for the purpose of plant
propagation (to have a new individual of its type)
and crop production is called planting materials.
Planting materials may be of two types:
1. Sexual propagule and 2. Asexual propagule
1. Sexual propagule: Sexual propagation involves
the union of the pollen (male) with the egg
(female) to produce a seed. Sexual propagation
involves the floral parts of a plant. e. g. rice seed.
2. Asexual/vegetative propagule : Asexual
propagation involves taking a part of one parent
plant and causing it to regenerate itself into a new
plant. The resulting new plant is genetically
identical to its parent. Asexual propagation
involves the vegetative parts of a plant: stems,
roots, or leaves.
 Some planting materials

Setts (sugarcane)

Crown (pineapple)
Suckers (banana)

Rhizomes (ginger)
Planting Practices
Planting is the placing of a specified amount of
propagules/planting materials/seeds in soil for
germination and growth to grow as crop plants.

METHODS/SYSTEMS OF PLANTING
Planting methods may broadly be classified as follows:
1. Direct seeding: It is the practice of using seed directly as
the planting material. Direct seeding may be done by-
a. Broadcasting
b. Dibbling and
c. Drilling

2. Transplanting:
a) Broadcasting: Broadcasting is a very common method of
sowing seed. Broadcasting is the process of random
spreading of seeds on the surface of seedbeds which may or
may not be incorporated into the soil or covered with soil.
Broadcasting of seed can be done both manually (by hand)
and mechanically (mechanical spreader or aero plane).
Advantages of broadcasting

i. It is an easy, quick and cheap method of

sowing seed.

ii. More land can be covered within a short time.

iii. No need of sowing implement. So, cost of

sowing becomes less.

iv. Broadcasting is the usual method of sowing

seed for mixed cropping.

v. Broadcasting needs less labour.

Disadvantages of broadcasting

i. There is no evenness of germination and uniformity in

seedling establishment.

ii. The requirement of seed per area is more.

iii. The cost of weeding and thinning in broadcast crop is

more.

iv. The intercultural operations such as earthing up,

manuring, irrigation etc. can not be carried out with
ease.

v. Broadcast crops do not grow uniformly so prediction of

expected yield becomes erroneous.
Conditions for broadcasting:
➢Broadcasting of seeds is done in dry, semi dry and wet
fields.

➢For sowing in wet fields, seeds must be soaked with water

for eight to twelve hours and incubated for a few hours so
that the radicle just begins to emerge from the seed.

➢Crops such as upland and flooded rice, oats, wheat,

millets, mustard, jute, black gram, fodder crops such as
berseem, lucerne and jowar, spices such as coriander and
cumin are generally sown by this method.

➢For mixed cropping, broadcasting is the usual practice of

sowing seeds.
 b) Dibbling: This is a method of putting a seed or a few
seeds or seed materials in a hole or pit or pocket, made at
predetermined spacing and depth with a dibble or planter or
very often by hand or by any convenient implements such as
spade, khurpi, nirani etc., and covering them with soil.
Advantages of dibbling
i. The entire field need not be prepared for dibbling
but only the seeding zone.
ii. It requires less seeds and it gives rapid and
uniform germination with good seedling vigour.
iii. Intercultural practices like weeding, earthing up
and care of individual plants can be facilitated.
iv. When proper and uniform spacing is maintained,
it becomes very easy to calculate the plant
population and thereby expected yield.
Disadvantages of dibbling
i. Uniform germination is not possible if all seeds are not
placed at uniform depth.
ii. Dibbling is a more laborious, time consuming and
expensive process compared with broadcasting.

Conditions for dibbling

➢ Seeds are sown in dry or semi-dry soil conditions and
manures and fertilizers including pesticides and soil
conditioners may be applied simultaneously.
➢ This method is suitable for planting maize, cotton,
potato, groundnut, soybean, sunflower, sugarcane,
sweet potato, onion, garlic, turmeric, ginger, gourd etc.
c) Drilling: Drilling is a practice of dropping seeds in rows
and furrows. Rows and furrows of predetermined
dimensions are made; seeds are dropped at a definite depth
and distance, covered with soil and compacted. During
seeding other operations such as the drilling of manures and
fertilizers, pesticides and soil amendments are also can be
done simultaneously.
Advantages of drilling
i. The less amount seed is required than broadcasting.
ii Weeding can be done profitably within a short time by wheel
hoe, Japanese rice weeder etc.
iv. The intercultural operations such as earthing up, manuring,
irrigation, spraying etc. can be done successfully in the
drilled crops.
v. The drilled crops get light, air, nutrients equally as they are
spaced at uniform distance.
vi. Harvesting of crops is easier and advantageous. So,
harvesting cost becomes less.
vii. The cost of cultivation in drilled crop becomes less and
the yield of drilled crop increases.
Disadvantages of drilling

i. Drilling requires an implement such as a seed-drill

which increases the cost of cultivation.

ii. Drilling requires more time, energy and cost.

iii. An expert technical person is required for running of a

seed-drill.

v. Drilling is not feasible in clay and stony soils.

Condition for drilling:

➢Seeds are sown in dry or semi-dry soil

conditions.

➢Crops such as wheat, mustard, upland rice,

barley, jowar, black gram, jute, sesame, cumin and
coriander are sown by drilling.
Different planting methods
2. Transplanting: Transplanting is the removal of an
actively growing plant from one place and planting it in
another for further growth and production. This operation
may be performed when the seedlings acquire some ability
to endure such shocks and when environmental conditions
are favorable for easy establishment in the new location.
Why seedlings are raised and transplanted?
➢ The seedlings of some crops are raised in the nursery bed
whose seeds are smaller in size and seedlings need
sufficient care during early stage of growth.
➢ The seeds of some crops that do not respond well in direct
seeding in the main field are sown in the nursery bed and
the seedlings are transplanted in the main field.
➢ The seedlings can be transplanted just after the harvesting
of previous crops. On the other hand, the crops will be late,
if the seeds are sown after the preparation of land.
➢ Seedlings are raised in nursery bed with sufficient care and
they are protected from the attack of insect pests and
disease.
➢ The crops such as vegetables, seasonal flowers etc. yield
better if they are transplanted in the main field after raising
the seedlings in the nursery bed.
Some important aspects of transplanting
➢Pulling or uprooting of Seedlings for transplanting
Watering, special care, not to be stored
➢Time for transplanting
Afternoon, anytime if cloudy or raining
➢Condition of seedlings
Trimming of seedlings
➢Seedling age
Three/four functional leaf stage
➢Seedling number per hill
Two/three seedlings per hill
➢Placement of seedling
Shoot upward, root downward, watering
➢Seedling treatment
Root dipping in solution, preventing insect, disease
➢Water temperature (specially for rice)
Should be less than 400C
Advantages of transplanting
i. Transplanting maintains a uniform plant population per unit
area
ii. Saving and proper utilization of costly seeds is possible.
iii. It is easy to nourish the young and tender seedling in
nursery bed.
iv. It stimulates the seedling to produce more roots.
v. It is possible to grow crop under unfavourable climatic
condition.
vi. It is possible to produce more plants of high quality
through transplanting.
viii. Through transplanting, higher yields with more uniform
maturity are obtained.
Disadvantage of transplanting:
i. Total life duration of field crop increases by some 7-10 days
due to transplanting shock.
ii. Transplanting increases the labour and power requirement
in a peak period.
iii. Gap filling operation is necessary.
iv. Direct sown/seeded crop do not grown well if transplanted.
e.g. mustard, wheat, maize etc.

Field condition for transplanting:

➢ Field must be wet, and moisture condition of soil has to be
above saturation level.
➢ In addition, the field needs additional water to be puddled,
and puddling becomes a prerequisite for transplanting in
many cases.
➢ 1. SOWING/SEEDING DEPTH
➢ 2. PLANTING DENSITY AND
➢ 3. CONDITIONS of SOWING
 1. SOWING/SEEDING DEPTH
Placing the seed lower than the soil surface and the amount of soil
above the seed (cover) determines the favourable conditions
around the seed.

Determinants for sowing depth are-

i. seed size, ii. Soil moisture, iii. Soil structure and iv. Light affinity

i. Seed size: Seeding depth will vary primarily, according to the

size of the seed. In general, seeds are planted at a depth of two
to four times the size of the seed. In general, the larger the
seed, deeper is the sowing.

Crop Seeding depth

Wheat, barley, oats, sorghum, rice 2 to 4 cm

Beans, peas, garbanzo beans, faba beans 3 to 5 cm
Corn, soybeans, peanuts 4 to 8 cm
2-4 cm 3-5 cm

4-8 cm
ii. Soil moisture: Seeding depth will vary according to the
available moisture in the soil. In wet or heavy soils seeds are
planted just below the soil surface. On light or dry soils
seeds are generally planted at a deeper depth to ensure
sufficient moisture.
iii. Soil structure: Soil structure is important for placing
seeds in the desirable soil depth, covering and compacting
and thus providing intimate soil-seed contact. When sown,
many seeds fall initially into the smaller inter-crumb pores
where they germinate. Those which fall into macropores or
void spaces do not germinate until they come in close
contact with a microporous matrix.
iv. Light affinity: Some seeds contain the phytochrome
system and germinate in response to light (positive
photoblastic seeds). Therefore, positive photoblastic seeds
should not be sown at a depth exceeding 1 mm.
 2. PLANTING/SEEDING DENSITY
Plant population per unit area depends on the following
factors:
i. Soil fertility: In poor soils plant population should be lower
than in soils with high fertility as the inherent capacity of the
poor soil will not permit the growth of more number of plants.
ii. Soil structure: Usually granular soil structure is good for crop
production. However, specific crops will do better in heavy or
light types of soils according to their nature. For instance, rice
will perform well in clayey but peanut will not.
iii. Availability of water: In areas where water is a limiting factor
planting should be done at a lower density. Plant population
should be as much as there is water available to fulfill the
individual crop water requirement. Any plant population beyond
this will ultimately create a condition of water deficit for all the
crops of the field and consequently production will be reduced.
iv.Tillering capacity of the crop: Small grains/cereals
are planted at lower densities as the tillers or spikes
that they develop generally possess the ability to
compensate the initial gap spaces.
v. Time of planting: Optimum planting time always
requires a minimum plant population as compared
to late planting. Late planted crops get little time to
complete their vegetative growth phase as the
cropping season has already been advanced. As a
result, enough dry matter production becomes
impossible which ultimately reduces individual plant
performance. To compensate this loss, a higher
planting density is required to have the desired
return from unit area.
 3. FIELD CONDITIONS FOR SOWING
i. Soil moisture: Generally, seeds may be sown when the
soil has the optimum moisture content for crop germination
and establishment. Such soil moisture conditions can be
achieved after rainfall, irrigation and drainage or from
conserved water.
ii.Soil crusting: Due to surface crusting oxygen content
decreases and carbon dioxide concentration increases in
the soil. Crusting changes the nature of the conversion of
nutritional matter, compacts the soil and restricts water
infiltration, reduces availability of moisture and restricts
subsequent root and shoot elongation and decrease field
emergence. Keeping the soil surface continuously moist
even by very fine spray irrigation until the seedlings
emerge reduces the deleterious effect of crusting..
iii. Soil air: The seeds respire during and after imbibition.
Soil-inhabiting microbes and other living entities compete
with seeds for required ventilation in soil. When seeds are
sown in wet/saturated soil, seeds suffer from oxygen
deficiency. Rapid drainage to the desirable extent can
save the life of the seeds in the soil.
iv. Soil structure: Fine tilth soil is best for seed sowing.
There should be no soil crust during seed sowing.
v. Soil temperature: Soil temperature is very important
for seed germination. Where cold soil is a problem, soil
temperature can be increased by the use of organic
mulches and irrigation (which can reduce soil temperature
by around 100C). Again, draining of the field or
maintaining a slow flow of water reduces the hot water
injury to emerging seedlings.
vi. Light: Some seeds contain the phytochrome
system and germinate in response to light (positive
photoblastic seeds). The phytochrome system acts
as an environment detecting device as an informer to
seeds to break the dormancy and thus causes
germination under favourable conditions.

vii. Predatory animals and birds: Several frugivorous

and granivorous animals and birds feed on seeds
after sowing. Sufficient good seeds should be sown
to ensure a desirable crop stand.