By using a raised-bed cropping system, Australian rice growers could improve water productivity, maintain high rice yields, and grow a greater range of crops in rotation with rice, new research from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) shows.

“Rice growers need ways to increase their crop and water productivity, to manage watertables and to be in a position to respond to market opportunities. Permanent raised-bed cropping systems have the potential to meet these needs,” RIRDC Chairperson Ms Mary Boydell said today.

Ms Boydell was launching Using Raised Beds on Rice Farms— innovative rice-based cropping systems, a new report from the RIRDC Rice Research and Development Program.

The research was funded by RIRDC, on behalf of the rice industry and the Australian Government, in partnership with the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. The research was conducted by the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Yanco Research Institute.

“This project has built on the results of past research to improve productivity for rice farmers, and has investigated maintaining high rice yields using a permanent raised-bed system,” Ms Boydell said.

“A range of crops— like soybeans, canola, wheat and vegetables—are grown in rotation with rice crops. Many of these rotation crops don’t cope with waterlogged soil conditions, and this has limited the options available to rice farmers,” she said.

“This research has demonstrated that high rice yields can be maintained using permanent raised beds; and this has great economic benefits to the industry,” she said.

The benefits include: reduced costs of landforming when changing between rice and other crops; increased productivity in rotation crops through better soil drainage;  increased cropping flexibility and capacity to respond to market opportunities; and increased possibilities for double cropping, with all crops using the same layout.

 “The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation’s Rice R&D program has a strong record of providing targeted R&D that yields dividends for rice growers and the broader community,” Ms Boydell said.

“Through the RIRDC program the rice industry has increased its competitiveness and sustainability, in the face of challenging conditions. New varieties developed through the program have given Australian growers the edge in international markets, and through improved technology and farming systems the industry has dramatically increased its water-use efficiency,” she said.

Copies of the report are available from RIRDC – call 02 6271 4100, email publications@rirdc.gov.au, or visit www.rirdc.gov.au

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