Effect of Expanded Rice Husk Medium on Rice Seedling for Machine Transplanting

Rice farmers can save labor and expenses by using expanded rice husk (ERH) as a seedling medium since ERH is lighter and cheaper than other commercial seedling media (CSM). This study was carried out to develop a method for rice seedling cultivation using ERH as a seedling medium. It is suggested that a mixture of 60~% of ERH and 40~% of a CSM could be used as a seedling medium; the planting densities would be 240g per tray for infant seedlings and 200 g for young seedlings; and nitrogen (N) would be applied at a rate of 1g per tray for infant seedlings prior to planting and 2g per tray for young seedlings with division. Great care should be taken to use CO(NH2)2 as an N-source fertilizer. These results would lay a foundation for the rice seedling cultivation with ERH as a medium.