Agriculture is the main stay of our rural economy and the substance of life of the people. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important cereal crop in the world and a staple food of the global population. Rice is indeed one of the oldest types of cereal recorded in the history of mankind. Being the major source of food after wheat, it meets 43 percent of the calorie requirement of more than 70 percent of the Indian population. The cultivation of rice in intensive subsistence agriculture becomes synonymous with agriculture. India is the second largest producer of rice in the world being superseded only by China in the gross annual output.  Rice covers about 69 percent of the cultivated area and is the major crop covering about 63 percent of the total area under food grains. It is one of the most important food crops of India in term of area, production, and preferred food item throughout the country. India is the second largest producer and consumer of rice in the world and also fulfills food demand for more than two third of the Indian population. In order to meet the domestic demand of the increasing population, India produces 122.27 million tons of rice from an area of 45.07 million hectares with productivity of 2713 kg/ha during 2020- 21 (Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, 2021). It is also one of the most important food crops of Bihar and is mostly grown in North West Alluvial Plain Zone regions in rice-wheat cropping system. In Bihar, it occupied 3.02 million ha with a production of 6.88 million t and average productivity of 2276 kg ha- 1 (Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, 2021). The productivity of crops in the state is far below the national average in state rice is grown in versatile adaptation from precarious moisture as rain-fed upland to deep water areas having 3-4 meter water as a deep water crop with many intermediate situations in between. The diverse ecological situation. Varying climate and pedagogical diversities make rice cultivation a highly risky venture resulting in overall poor productivity of the crop in the state. In Bihar, around 33 percent of total rice area in the state is under assured irrigation while the remaining 67 percent is in under rain-fed situation. In last few years Bihar state is suffering from several drought in rice growing district of Bihar.
In India, rice is predominantly grown as puddled transplanted rice (PTR) under irrigated or assured rainfall conditions. Puddled transplanted rice-based production systems are high energy and cost intensive, and result in a less profitable production system. PTR is also not very environment-friendly due to its relatively higher methane emissions. In consequence, there is an imperative need to identify possible suitable crop establishment methods, specifically for rice production systems, to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and increase productivity and profitability. Direct seeded rice (DSR) systems have significant potential to reduce the environmental footprint and increase production. Nowadays, productivity has become stable due to present crop cultivars. In India, most of the farming community use long-duration rice varieties (>140 days), which postpone the planting of succeeding winter crops (wheat, winter maize, lentil, chickpea, potato, mustard, linseed etc.). Alternative suitable winter crops are decisive and largely depend on the rice harvesting. Puddled transplanted rice is an energy-intensive crop establishment method for rice and is known to degrade the soil system and negatively impact succeeding winter crops. To overwhelm the limitations of late seeding, alternative techniques must be adopted. DSR might be a suitable alternative to advance climate-resilient methods in an efficient manner (Brown et al., 2021).
In the traditional transplanting system (TPR), puddling creates a hard pan below the plough-zone and reduces soil permeability. It leads to high losses of water through puddling, surface evaporation and percolation. Water resources, both surface and underground, are shrinking and water has become a limiting factor in rice production. Huge water inputs, labour costs and labour requirements for TPR have reduced profit margins. In recent years, there has been a shift from TPR to DSR cultivation in several countries of Southeast Asia. This shift was principally brought about by the expensive labour component for transplanting due to an acute farm labour shortage, which also delayed rice sowing. Low wages and adequate water favour transplanting, whereas high wages and low water availability suit DSR. TPR has high labour demands for uprooting nursery seedlings, puddling fields and transplanting seedlings into fields. DSR is a major opportunity to change production practices to attain optimal plant density and high water productivity in water- scarce areas. Traditionally, rice is grown by transplanting one- month-old seedlings into puddled and continuously flooded soil (Farooq et al., 2011). Such an alarming rate of groundwater decline and water crisis is forcing researchers and farmers to consider the dry direct-seeded rice (DSR) production system.
Direct seeding of rice refers to the process of establishing a rice crop from seeds sown in the field rather than by transplanting seedlings from the nursery. There are three principal methods of direct seeding of rice (DSR): dry-DSR/dry seeding (sowing dry seeds into dry soil), wet-DSR/wet seeding (sowing pre-germinated seeds on wet puddled soils) and water- DSR/water seeding (seeds sown into standing water). Dry seeding has been the principal method of rice establishment since the 1950s in developing countries.

The present study was conducted in the selected villages of West Champaran district of Bihar. The farmers of this village had small, marginal and large paddy growers. The overall climatic condition of the district is Cold and Humid in nature. The rainfall in the region is received through South West Monsoon. The area receives heavy rainfall during monsoons. The average annual rainfall reported from the district of West Champaran is 1472 mm with Terai region receiving very heavy rainfall. In last few years Bihar state is suffering from several drought in rice growing district of Bihar and other environmental calamities. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, West Champaran were conducted demonstrations in North West Alluvial Plain Zone of West Champaran parts. All demonstrations were conducted in an area of 410 acres under climate resilient agriculture program during kharif seasons of two consecutive years 2021-22 to 2022-23 at 595 farmer’s fields of five villages i.e. Pakadiya, Baikunthawa, Jhakhara, Telhua and Gahari of block Nautan for resource conservation in rice by introducing direct seeded rice (DSR). The soils of the experimental fields were sandy clay loam to clay loamy in texture, with average pH 7.6.

Interested large, medium and small holding farmers were purposely selected for direct seeded rice (DSR). Land labeling was completed after the harvest of rabi crops through laser land leveler for uniform irrigation water standing, seed germination, and weed control. After Land labeling, the soil was pulverized conventionally with the help of 2-3 harrowing followed by planking for DSR. Direct seeded rice was sown in lines giving row-to-row spacing of 20 cm using a seed rate of 30 kg/ha at 2.5-3.0 cm depth with the help of multi crops planter machine. Whereas, traditionally transplanted rice fields were conventionally-tilled as DSR and puddled for smooth transplanting of rice seedlings. Sowing of rice seeds in main field for DSR and sowing rice seeds in nursery for TPR was done on the same date to evaluate the economical parameters. Whereas, 2-3 healthy seedlings of 20-25 days old were transplanted/hill at a spacing of 20 cm × 15 cm in TPR. Rajendra Swarna 3335, Rajendra Neelam, and Rajendra Mahsuri-1 varieties were used for both DSR and TPR in all experimental years.  Sowing of seeds in nursery for TPR as well as for DSR was done in the first fortnight of June before the onset of moonson. ................see more