Response of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa) to date of planting, spacing and seedling rate during wet season

A field experiment was conducted at Bhubaneshwar during wet season of 1999 and 2000, to find out the re sponse of hybrid rice Pro Agro 6201 to 3 dates of planting (1 6, 31 July and 16 August), 3 spacings (20 cm x 15 cm, 20 cm x 10 cm and 15 cm x 15 cm) and 2 seedling rates (1 and 2 seedlingslhill). Planting the crop on 16 July rzcorded the highest grain yield, which declined by 5.5 and 24.3% due to 15 and 30 days delay in planting respec tively. Yield did not vary significantly due to spacing during the first year. During the second year, planting the crop with a closer spacing of 20 cm x 10 cm yielded significantly more than that with wider spacing of 20 cm x 15 cm. Planting 2 seedlingslhill was beneficial with yield advantage oi 8.2% over 1 seedlinglhill.