About Lesson
Rice-fish farming
- Integrated farming practice in which fish is cultured in rice fields along or simultaneously with rice crop, rice being the primary crop, and fish as the secondary crop.
- Has the following advantages:
I. Most economic utilization of land enables the farmers to diversify their harvest.
ii. The productivity of rice increases due to the different beneficial activities of fish.
iii. Fish controls weeds, disease, snails, and harmful insects.
iv. Rodent control due to sufficient water in a rice field.
v. More income per unit area.
Techniques of fish culture in rice fields
a. Site selection
The following points should be taken care of for selecting a suitable site for rice-fish culture:
- The availability of adequate supply of fresh water.
- Soil has good water-holding capacity and pH between 7-9.
- Avoid land which is subject to flood and landslide.
b. Dike/bund construction
- Sufficiently increased so that it can hold at least 15 cm of water.
- Should be approx..50 cm wide at the base, 50 cm high, and 30 cm top width.
c. Trench construction
- Serves as a refuge for fish when the water level drops too low, the temperature of the rice field is high and there is the threat of predators.
- Serves as catch basins during harvest.
- In Nepal, a Peripheral trench system is practiced.
- In this system, a trench 50 cm wide and 50 cm deep is constructed all around the dikes.
- Shouldn’t account for omorethan 10% of the total area.
d. Size of rice plots:
- Constructed in such as way that independent filling and draining of water can be carried out.
- Recommended size is from 200-2000 m2.
e. Inlet and outlet construction:
- The inlets and outlets are placed diagonally opposite so that there is more circulation of water in a rice field.
- Made to prevent the entry of unwanted fish, and tadpoles and to prevent escape of stocked fishes.
Characteristics of fish suitable for Rice-Fish culture
- Must thrive in shallow water.
- Must tolerate high water temperature.
- Must tolerate low dissolved oxygen.
- Must withstand fairly high turbidity.
- Have to grow rapidly to marketable size.
- Must not show an escaping tendency as shown by wild fishes.
- Eg: Common carp and Nile tilapia.
Suitable varieties of rice for Rice-Fish culture
- Masuli: Late maturity ( 155 days)
- Sabitri: Moderate maturity ( 140 days)
- Radha-4 Early maturity (125 days)
- Janaki, Himali,Kanchan, Barse-1, Barse-2, etc.
