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Planning good crop-management practices
To apply good crop-management practices, it is necessary to know the various development stages and phases of the rice plant. For example, to know the appropriate transplanting time, it is important to know when the rice plant starts developing tillers and for how long. When transplanting is late, a good part of the tillering potential can be lost. Plant development also determines the ‘right’ time for weeding and fertilizer applications.
Here is a facilitator's guide on learning the rice development stages.
Effect of temperature on rice development
Rice phenology (the succession of rice development stages) depends, among other factors, on air and water temperature and on photoperiod (day-length), and thus, changes throughout the year. Phenology is essentially a function of varietal choice and sowing date. A good knowledge of rice development enables one to predict the best timing of crop management interventions. The timing of these interventions - e.g. application of fertilizer, weeding, last drainage before harvesting - is directly linked to rice development. Temperature also directly influences yield: high temperatures at flowering and low temperatures at panicle initiation stage both lead to spikelet sterility and, therefore, yield loss.
Here is a reference guide on the effect of temperature on rice development.