Prepare the land for

planting rice
(Irrigated or Rain fed)
 What is Rainfed?
The term Rainfed agriculture is used to
describe farming practices that rely on
rainfall for water.
 What is Irrigated?

To supply water to (land or

crops) to help growth, typically
by means of channels.
 Methods in Land Preparation for Rice
Production.

1.Plowing
2.Harrowing
3.Rotavating
 is the process of breaking up the
Plowing soil usually 15 cm. deep to
incorporate and cover inorganic
matter. It can be accomplished
with a power tiller or moldboard
plow hitched to a carabao.
 To prepare the field for plowing follow these
steps:
1. Remove from the field anything that may cause injury to the
plowmen and farm animals or damage to the implements.
2. Cut tall grasses and remove stubbles that may interfere with
plowing.
3. In irrigated fields, flood the field 2 – 7 days before plowing
to soften the soil. Keep the surface of the soil covered with
water to prevent the soil from sticking to the plow. Keep the
soil flooded with about one cm depth of water for one week
to soften the clods and allow weeds and stubbles to
decompose before harrowing is done. In rainfed areas, the
field is better plowed while it is dry.
Harrowing
1. Harrowing is typically
done after ploughing
2.  breaking up and
smoothing out the surface
of the soil.
 Purpose of Harrowing
1. Making a bed fit for the seed you’re growing, here
the harrow’s work is sorting the soil and breaking
clumps, so that the seeds will have a substrate fit
for growth of their roots.
2. Mixing fertiliser with the soil. If manure is surface
spread on ploughed soil you need to mix it down
quite fast to keep most of the nitrogen.
3. in some cases the harrow does a bit of weeding as
well, by breaking apart and bringing roots to the
surface so they can dessicate (common couch) and
by burial of newly sprouted weeds (although the
tined weeder does much more of this work, some is
done by the harrow).
 Rotavating
• This method of land
preparation is
employed with the
use of a rotary tiller
or rotavator drawn
by a tractor.
• A rotary tiller may
take the place of a
plow and harrow
because it changes
the soil into fine
tilth having
sufficient depth.
Rotavator These versatile pieces of
farming equipment is a
motorised machine which
uses rotating blades to turn
soil.
 Advantages of Rotavator
1. Rotavator use in Agriculture allows farmers to prepare
the soil without using large amounts of labour. It is vital
to ensure that the soil is properly prepared. By turning
the soil the maximum amount of nutrients are offered to
the crops. The better the soil structure, the larger the
crop yield which results in higher profits.
2. Typically, the industrial rotavator models are self-
propelled and they are capable of travelling both
backwards and forwards. The gearbox allows the
operator to change the machine speed while the blades
continue rotating at the same rate.
Final leveling of the field using a carabao
drawn leveler.
 Cleaning and Repairing Levees of Rice
Paddies
Just after plowing, the levees must be repaired
to prevent seepage from the paddy.
Look for rat holes, cracks or breaks, and plaster
with mud. Levees that are properly repaired and
plastered with mud are unfavorable to rat
infestation, growth of weeds and host plants or
insects. During dry season rice production, a
canal at the middle of the paddies should be
constructed to facilitate irrigation.
 What is Rice Paddies?
Rice Paddies a field covered in water that is
used for growing rice.
 What is Levees?
• A levee is a natural or artificial wall that blocks
water from going where we don't want it to
go. 
• Levees may be used to increase available land
for habitation or divert a body of water so the
fertile soil of a river or sea bed may be used
for agriculture.
Levees
 Remember:
• The best time to fix the levee is after the first
plowing because the upturned soil near the
levees can be used for plastering in the work.
 The following are the steps in repairing
levees.
1. Clean the levees. Trim the thick portions of both sides of the
levees using a bolo. Patch all rat holes, breaks, and soft spots.
2. Repair the levees by using soil which has been broken up during
the first plowing for patching soft spots and cracks. Break up
and rebuild the portion of the levees containing rat holes.
3. Patch-up/cover/fill the levee with mud making sure that all
cracks are sealed properly.
4. Dikes must be cleaned to remove pest, compact to prevent
seepage, and maintain at 15 cm high x 20 cm wide to prevent
rat burrowing. Ditches will ensure even water distribution and
drainage.
 IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER
1. Lowland rice requires well puddled and well prepared soil.
This ensures a soil surface that is weed-free, soft and leveled
to make transplanting of seedlings/planting of seeds easier. It
also facilitates mixing of organic matter such as rice straw,
weeds, and stubbles with the soil to hasten decomposition.
Proper land preparation is undertaken to level the field, for
uniform distribution of irrigation water, fertilizer, and
pesticides. It also prevents or minimizes water seepage from
the field.
2. Upland rice culture, plowing should be done across the slope.
3. Observe safety measures in using tools and equipment.
 Answer the following based on your
understanding.
• What’s the difference between Rain Fed and
Irrigated? (10 points) minimum of 3 sentence
• On your own words ‘’Why is it important to have
a germination test before planting? (10 points)
• Why we need to make the levees (pilapil)
strong? (5 points)
• Differentiate the ‘’ PLOWING, HARROWING,
ROTAVATING’’ (15 points)