Popular Kheti
Volume -1, Issue-1 (January-March), 2013
Available online at www.popularkheti.com
© 2013 popularkheti.com
ISSN:2321-0001
Beushening: A Traditional Method of Rice Crop Establishment in Eastern India
Priyanka Gautam*, B. Lal, J. L. Katara and Ekta Joshi**
Division of Crop Production, Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha-753006, India
**Division of Agronomy, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012, India
*
Corresponding author email:
[email protected]Beushening, commonly practiced in submerged lowlands of eastern India, is a traditional cultural practice
of cross-ploughing the dry-seeded (broadcast) standing crop of rice 25-35 days after seeding when 15-20
cm of rainwater gets impounded in rice fields, followed by laddering and seedling redistribution which
facilitates stable rice yields under low levels of inputs and uncertain climatic conditions.
Beushening Beushening is a traditional rice cultivation
Rainfed lowland rice occupies an important system, common throughout the rainfed regions
position in the agriculture of eastern India, of eastern India. Beushening facilitates stable
which comprises the states of Assam, Bihar, rice yields under low levels of inputs and
Orissa, West Bengal, and the eastern parts of uncertain climatic conditions through effective
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Eastern weed control, stimulated root growth and
India accounts for 58% of the total rice area in optimum plant stand with enhanced tillering.
the country but less than 48% of national rice Rice cultivars mostly used in beushening are of
production. In the rainfed lowland areas of local origin with maturity duration of 150- 170
eastern India with shallow and intermediate days and medium tillering capacity. Improved
water, beushening is popular among farmers in varieties are rarely used for beushening.
about 50–80% of the area (Nayak and Lenka, Beushening involves two broad series of
1988) because they obtain stable yields with field operations:
limited labour, cash, and inputs under an 1. Direct seeding of mostly traditional tall rice
uncertain water supply. Locally, this practice is cultivars using higher seed rates than those
used for direct seeding without beushening;
known as beushen in Orissa and Bihar, biasi in
or
eastern Madhya Pradesh, lev in eastern Uttar
2. Wet ploughing and laddering of the field,
Pradesh, and baug or bidauni in Bihar (Singh et. generally 25-35 days after germination of
al., 1994). It is practiced by resource poor the rice, when about 15 cm of rainwater is
farmers under risk-prone environments with accumulated in the crop field. In some
highly variable climate. cases, seedling redistribution is also done
after this operation.
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The Beushening Process Farmers observe weed conditions in fields
The fields to be beushened are ploughed for 2-3 days after laddering. If weeds were
immediately after the winter or summer not well incorporated into the soil, farmers
rain and 2-3 times thereafter during repeat ladderings.
summer to control weeds, insects and Two to three ladderings are generally
rodents. Ploughing is done by an animal sufficient to damage and incorporate the
drawn wooden plough, without inverting weeds, especially Echinochloa colona
the soil. (jhimpa or jharua), which was difficult to
If weeds are observed after the first distinguish from the rice plant.
monsoon rain, additional ploughings are Seedling redistribution is done to fill up
done to suppress them. blank patches and thin out the dense
Rice seeds are then broadcasted in the dry patches caused by repeated laddering.
soil and mixed by harrowing in the last
week of May. Farmers’ Reasons for Beushening
Farmers had experienced that sowing in Labour requirement: Labour saving in
May resulted in higher grain and straw beushening is mainly in nursery growing, land
yields because the crop matured before the preparation, transplanting and weeding
occurrence of late season drought in early operations. As the operations in beushening,
to mid-October. especially land preparation, wet ploughing and
Wet ploughing is done 25-35 days after hand weeding, are done over a longer period of
germination, but only after having 15-20 time, the labour demand for these operations
cm of standing water in the rice field. could be spread over time. A total of 130
Farmers let their cattle graze rice seedlings mandays/ha are required in the various
one week before ploughing to de-top operations of beushening versus 209 mandays/ha
seedlings to improve tillering and maintain in the transplanting system. The beushening
optimum plant population. They also use system also uses less animal power (42 days/ha)
the crop foliage as fodder which otherwise than the transplanting system (50 days/ha).
would be lost during ploughing and Low fertilizer requirement: Farmers in
laddering. beushening rice farming use traditional tall
Rice fields are ploughed, followed by one cultivars which require minimum fertilizer and
or two ladderings with 15-20 kg of load do not respond economically to higher doses.
(usual plough load) on the ladder, to only According to farmers, high-yielding varieties
break the “soil slice” and loosen it without (HYVs) require high purchased inputs and are
damaging rice plants. not suited for beushening. Farmers also avoid
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HYVs for transplanting because of their inability up to transplanting have to be done within about
to invest in more fertilizers. a month. Beushening is therefore a cost-saving
Beushening does not require a nursery: strategy.
Owing to a shortage of water and the problem of Beushening is an appropriate alternative in
stray animals during summer months, it is drought and submergence prone areas:
Transplanted or direct-seeded rice cultivation in
difficult to raise seedlings in a nursery. This also
drought- and submergence-prone areas is not
saves farmers substantial labour cost.
economically feasible because of erratic rainfall
Puddling is not required: Farmers have to wait
and undulating topography. Depending on the
for enough water to accumulate for puddling,
rainfall, the crop is likely to suffer from drought
which, even in normal years of rainfall, is
or floods or both, sometimes even in the same
possible only in mid- to late July. Therefore, by
season. The timeliness of transplanting is crucial
transplanting, crop establishment is not only
because, with progressive delays in
delayed but also suffers from drought in mid-
transplanting, the seedlings become older. This
October, near flowering time. Beushened fields,
results in a lower number of tillers and the crop
on the other hand, which already contain a crop
faces a greater risk of water shortage and low-
as a result of sowing in May, could hold water
temperature injury at the reproductive stage in
like a puddled field.
mid-November and early December.
Less pest problems: As the fields to be
Ease and timely establishment of non-rice
beushened are repeatedly ploughed during
crops: In clay soils, several years of puddling
summer, these fields reduce rodent and weed
for transplanting reduced rice yields and created
problems, because summer ploughing destroys
difficulty in establishing subsequent non-rice
rodent burrows and uproots weeds, which are
crop because of soil compaction. Transplanted
dried up in the summer heat. The remaining
rice was harvested 2-3 weeks later than
weeds are buried in the mud during wet
beushened rice, subsequent non-rice crops in
ploughing and laddering, done 25-35 days after
transplanted fields also suffered from soil
germination.
moisture depletion even at early stages of
Less cash inputs required: Besides not having
growth. These problems are not encountered in
nurseries and puddling operations, beushening
beushened fields.
also requires no additional expenses for
fertilizers. Moreover, because labour
requirements are spread over a longer period of
Disadvantages of Beushening
time, most operations in beushening are done by Low plant stand: In beushening, insufficient
family labour. In then transplanting system, rain after sowing results in poor germination and
hired labour is needed as most of the operations low plant stand. Rain must be adequate to
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promote fast seed emergence, better plant stand, Chandra (1999) reported that, among three
and high yield. Beushening also results in some medium-duration rice cultivars differing in
damage to rice seedlings and their uneven stature and quality, beushening was beneficial
distribution. Therefore, farmers use higher seed for semi tall (115 cm) variety Moti when
rates, ranging from 130 to 240 kg ha-1 to compared to Padmini, (130 cm tall) and T-141.
compensate. Further, flash floods just after Lower crop yield: Lower yields of rice in the
beushening usually increase plant mortality. beushening system are due to reduced plant
Poor weed control: Weeds are the second most stand, poor weed control, less spread of high-
important constraint to rice production after yielding varieties, lodging, low fertilizer use and
drought/submergence in eastern India. They lower fertilizer-use efficiency, almost negligible
depress yield considerably in direct dry-seeded use of plant protection measures, and drought
lowlands. Infestation of balunga or karga (wild and flood (Singh et al., 1994 and Chandra 1999).
rice) is a serious problem in eastern Madhya
Conclusion
Pradesh. The effectiveness of traditional cultural
Traditional system of rice cultivation like
operations such as beushening, which helps to
beushening is more sustainable compared to
minimize weed infestation, depends on an active
transplanting system though yields are lower
monsoon in the early stages of crop growth.
which needs to be improved with refinement of
When beushening is delayed because of rain,
package and practices.
weeds grow well and use up most nutrients for
the rice crop and also suppress tillering. References
Lack of high-yielding varieties: Semi dwarf Chandra D. 1999. Beushening: a wonderful
cultural operation of rainfed lowland
short-duration cultivars are reportedly unsuitable
rice in eastern India. Indian Farming
for beushening as their grain yield decreases 49(4):10-12.
Nayak BC and Lenka D. 1988. Studies on
considerably because of stem breakage during
cultural practices for rainfed lowland
wet plowing and laddering. Beushening is not drought-prone medium land rice. Indian
Journal of Agronomy 33(1):1-6.
good for all rice varieties in the lowland
Singh RK, Singh VP and Singh CV. 1994.
ecosystem irrespective of stature, quality, and Agronomic assessment of ‘beushening’
in rainfed lowland rice cultivation in
duration.
Bihar, India. Agriculture, Ecosystems
& Environment 51:271-280.
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