1. Research Findings own or in collaboration with others in the past 3–
5 years and the results
1. Increasing Productivity of Rice-Rice Cropping System Adopting Short Duration Rice and
Mustard and Relay Cropping
Author : M. Harunur Rashid, M. Khairul Islam Rony, Shama Nasrin
Status: Published
International Conference on Environment, Agriculture and Food Sciences
(ICEAFS'2012) August 11-12, 2012 Phuket (Thailand)
Abstract—The most dominant cropping pattern, t. aman (wet season rice)-fallow-boro (dry
season rice) needs intensification for increasing system productivity and increase income of the
Bangladeshi farmers. Two cropping patterns with the inclusion of mustard (Brassica compestris)
in double rice, rice-tilled mustard-rice and rice-relay mustard-rice were compared in six farmers
plot at Dumuria upazila of Khulna district in Bangladesh. The inclusion of mustard in between
two rice increased the rice equivalent yield (REY) of 21 and 28% with relay and tilled mustard,
respectively. The gross return was increased by 60% and 63% in rice-tilled mustard-rice and
rice-relay mustard-rice cropping sequences compared to existing rice-rice cropping pattern.
Experimental evidence reveals that there is an ample scope of substantial improvement of the
productivity of the double rice cropping sequence with the inclusion of high yielding mustard
varieties either by tilling the land or following relay cropping.
Keywords—Adoption mustard, rice-rice cropping system, system productivity.
2. CHANGING RICE-BASED FARMING ALONG WITH LABOR USE PATTERN: A
CASE FROM CLIMATICALLY VULNERABLE SOUTH-WESTERN OF
BANGLADESH
Author: M. Harunur Rashid, M. Khairul Islam Rony, Debabrata Mahalder, Shama Nasrin,
Kamala Gurung
Status: Published
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE & SOCIAL ISSUES-2012
Abstract
The affects of the climate change in the changing rice-based farming system and it’s implication
into the gender labour use pattern is an important component to explore for the improvement of
the agricultural system in coastal ecosystem. A study was conducted in four villages of the south-

2. western region of Bangladesh since this region is as usual and affected by the extreme climatic
hazard like Aila and or Sidr on the productivity of rice-based farming and other agricultural
products through focus group discussions followed by sample survey. The findings revealed that
changes in climate affect the productivity of rice-based cropping systems and thus food
provisioning goes down to 3-6 months. The influence of the society forced the poor farmers to
cultivate shrimp with the intrusion of salt water which is further affected by Aila and Sidr.
Therefore, the local people have adapted with the situation by adopting diversified farming and
also various off-farm and non-farm activities. This has led men are migrating to other places for
weeks to months which lead to women to cope with diversified workload. Meanwhile, this also
created the social conflict on shrimp farming vs. crop or poultry farming as a secondary effect.
Key Words: Climate change, agricultural productivity, men and women labour
3. SALT TOLERANT AMAN VARIETY FOR INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY IN
COASTAL SALINE AREA OF BANGLADESH
Shama Nasrin*, M. Harunur Rashid, M. Khairul Islam Rony, M. A. Saleque
Status: Presented on Young Scientist Conference- October’2013
Abstract
Tidally submerged salt affected area requires site specific suitable variety of Aman rice for
optimizing rice productivity. On-farm field trial was conducted in Batiaghata upazila under
Khulna district during aman season in 2011 and farmers’ led demonstrations were conducted
with selected varieties in 2012 to identify suitable variety for medium saline soils. Six varieties,
BR23, BRRI dhan40, BRRI dha41, BRRI dhan53, BRRI dhan54 and BINA dhan8 were
validated in a RCBD design with ten dispersed replications with soil salinity ranges between
3.00 to 5.50 dSm-2
. Among the tested varieties, BRRI dhan53 and BRRI dhan41 produced
significantly higher grain yield (4.53 and 4.10 t ha-1
, respectively) and matured 25 and 20 days
earlier, respectively, compared to existing variety BR23 (3.64 t ha-1
). Farmers preferred BRRI
dhan53 shallowly flooded (<30 cm) and BRRI dhan41 for the land that inundated up to 90 cm,
respectively. Visiting the performance of these varieties through exposure visits, 51 farmers of
different villages cultivated the varieties BRRI dhan41 and BRRI dhan53 in 2012 which
produced 11-25% and 8-11% higher grain yield which resulted 107-109% and 67-102 % higher
gross margin compared to BR23. The selected varieties could be disseminated in the coastal
saline area of Bangladesh.
4. Community based demonstration and adoption of AWD for rice in coastal region
Debabrata Mahalder ,M.Harunur Rashid, M.Khairul Islam Rony , M.A. Saleque

3. Status: Presented on Young Scientist Conference-October’2013
5. FARMER’S LED EVALUATION OF RICE-MUSTARD-RICE CROPPING
SYSTEM IN KHULNA REGION
D. Mahalder1
, M. K. I. Rony2
, M. H. Rashid*3
, M. A. Saleque
Status: Presented on Bangladesh Agronomy Society (BSA) Journal
Abstract
The most dominant cropping sequence, T. Aman (wet season rice)-Fallow-Boro (dry
season rice) is recommended to intensify and increase system productivity by replacing
medium duration T. Aman varieties with short duration rice and including of short
duration improved mustard varieties which requires farmers’ led evaluation for large
scale adoption. The combination of crop varieties in the rice-mustard-rice cropping
sequence, BINA dhan7-BARI mustard14-BRRI dhan28, BINA dhan7-BARI mustard15-
BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan39-BARI mustard14-BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan39-BARI
mustard15-BRRI dhan28 were evaluated in 25 farmer’s field of Khulna during 2012-13
to compare their productivity. The treatment combinations were evaluated in three
Upazilas of Khulna and Satkhira districts as per framers choice. The grain yields of T.
Aman and Boro rice and seed yield of mustard were found comparable under all the
treatments. The rice equivalent yield of different cropping treatments also followed the
same trend. The gross margin from different treatments was ranged Tk. 955548 to Tk.
112487 ha-1
. Results revealed that any of the tested combination of cropping could be
scaled out based on farmers’ preference for rice and mustard variety.
Key words: Short duration rice and mustard variety, rice-mustard-rice cropping sequence,
system productivity
6. Economic Benefits of Minimum Tillage Practices in Boro Rice under Different
Nutrient Management Options
P.C. Goswami1
, D. Mahalder1
, M. K. I. Rony1
, M. H. Rashid2*
Status: Will be presented on Conference on Conservation Agriculture for Smallholders
(CASH) in Asia and Africa on December 2014
Introduction

4. The dominant cropping pattern in Bangladesh is T. aman (wet season rice) – fallow – boro (dry
season rice). Recently effort is paid to fit mustard in–between two rice crops (Islam, 2013). This
would increase the productivity of rice cropping systems based on the cultivation of two rice
crops a year under reduced tillage system. This would increase the productivity of cropping
systems based on the cultivation of two rice crops a year under reduced tillage system. Field
observations indicate that land to be used for cultivating boro rice that follows a mustard crop
needs little or no tillage allowing rice to be transplanted into unpuddled soil. Further residual
phosphorus and potassium fertilizer from the mustard crop allows boro rice to be grown with
lower fertilizer rates. This study was designed towards that end and conducted at farmers’ fields
in southwest Bangladesh.
7. PRODUCTIVITY AND TASTE OF BORO RICE VARIETIES IN SOUTH-
WESTERN AREA OF BANGLADESH
M. Khairul Islam Rony1
, S. Nasrin2
, D. Mahalder3
, M. Harunur Rashid*4
and M. A.
Saleque
Status: Presented on Bangladesh Agronomy Society (BSA) Journal 2013
Abstract
Non-saline soils occupy a great portion in the coastal south-western region of Bangladesh and
represent a good niche for Boro and Aman rice. The rice-fish cropping system is practiced in the
Ghers (former rice field surrounded by large elevated bunds). Boro rice is grown in the gher
during rabi season and fish during kharif season. Popular Boro variety in the region is BRRI
dhan28.We demonstrated two new Boro rice varieties BRRI dhan50 & BRRI dhan55 in Dumuria
upazila of Khulna district in 2012 in six farmers’ fields. BRRI dhan55 produced significantly
higher grain yield (6.17 t ha-1
) compared to BRRI dhan28 (5.82 t ha-1
). Farmers preferred BRRI
dhan55 for higher grain yield and longer plant height, which resulted in higher straw yield and
non-lodging characteristics suitable for the coastal area. Moreover, the taste of BRRI dhan55 is
similar to BRRI dhan28 which was a concern of female farmer during variety selection. In the
subsequent Boro season (Boro 2013), forty-seven farmers in six upazilas cultivated BRRI
dhan55 both in gher and normal fields that produced 4-5% and 6-8% higher grain yield and
resulted 11-13% and 13-14% gross margin compared to BRRI dhan28 in non-gher and fresh
water gher areas, respectively.
Key words: Boro rice variety, Productivity, Taste, South western Bangladesh

5. 8. BORO CULTIVATION IN GHERS WITHOUT PLOUGHING SAVES MONEY
M. K. I. Rony1
, M. H. Rashid*2
, S. Nasrin3
, M. A. Saleque4
Status: Published on Bangladesh Agronomy Society (BSA) Journal 2013
Abstract
Boro rice followed by either prawn or carps is one of the major cropping sequences in the ghers
of south western part of Bangladesh. The system has potentials of reducing production cost by
adopting zero tillage Boro. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of zero tillage practice
on the cost of rice production in rice - fish system at Raymohal village under Dumuria Upazila of
Khulna district during Boro season in 2011-12. Zero tillage Boro was compared with
conventional puddling method of rice establishment under recommended crop management
practices in farmers’ ghers. Results revealed that zero tillage plot gave a comparable yield as
obtained with the conventional tillage. The zero tillage practice not only saved the ploughing
cost but also reduced the time of land preparation. The zero tillage Boro could be extrapolated in
Boro rice under rice-prawn/carp cropping sequence.
Key words: Zero tillage, Boro rice, Rice-prawn/carps cropping sequence, productivity
9. AGRONOMIC OPTIONS FOR ENHANCING SYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY OF T.
AMAN-FALLOW-SESAME CROPPING SEQUENCE IN THE SALINE SOILS
S. Nasrin1
, D. Mahalder2
, M. K. I. Rony3
, M. H. Rashid*4
, M. A. Saleque5
Status: Published on Bangladesh Agronomy Society (BSA) Journal 2013
Abstract
Transplanted Aman rice followed by sesame is one of the major cropping sequences in
the medium saline, irrigation water lacking area of the greater Khulna of Bangladesh
which requires suitable varieties of rice and sesame and alternate tillage options for
increasing the system productivity and to cope with weather uncertainty. A study was
conducted to identify the combination of rice and sesame varieties and alternate tillage
option at Hetalbunia village under Batiaghata Upazila of Khulna district during July 2011
to May 2012. Rice varieties, BR23 and BRRI dhan41 and sesame varieties, BARI til3,
BARI til4, BINA til1 and BINA til2 with reduced tillage were evaluated and compared
with existing varieties and conventional tillage system. Results indicated that aman
varieties BR23 or BRRI dhan41 rice followed by either BINA til2 or existing sesame
enhanced the system productivity. BINA til2 and reduced tillage optimized the

6. suboptimal plant population of the existing system and thus increased the system
productivity. The adoption of salt tolerant rice varieties, BR23 and BRRI dhan41 and
sesame variety BINAtil2 and reduced tillage in sesame by the power tiller operated
seeder could be scaled out in the medium saline and irrigation water lacking area.
Key words: Rice and sesame variety, tillage, Rice-sesame cropping sequence, system
productivity
10. SYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY OF RICE-SUNFLOWER SEQUENCE IN RAINFED
COASTAL SALINE AREA
M. H. Rashid1
, M. K. I. Rony2
, S. Nasrin3
, D. Mahalder4
, M. A. Saleque5
Status: Published on Bangladesh Agronomy Society (BSA) Journal 2013
Abstract
Single transplanted Aman rice is the most dominant cropping system in medium saline and
irrigation water lacking area of southern coastal region. The existing system requires adoption of
new crop with proper establishment method followed by rice for increasing the cropping
intensity and system productivity. A study was conducted to compare the rice-sunflower
cropping sequence over the rice-fallow cropping sequence at Ponchu village under Dumuria
Upazila of Khulna district during July 2012 to May 2013. Four combination of cropping
sequences, i) high yielding (HYV) rice-sunflower, ii) HYV rice-Fallow, iii) local variety (LV)
rice-sunflower and iv) LV rice-fallow were validated with six dispersed replications. The HYV
rice-sunflower produced the highest rice equivalent yield (REY) of 10.04 t ha-1
significantly
followed by LV rice-sunflower (6.36 t ha-1
) while the HYV rice-fallow and LV rice-fallow gave
4.61 and 1.89 t ha-1
REY, respectively. The results revealed that the no tilled dibbled sunflower
could be scaled out in the medium saline rainfed environment of the southern coastal region after
harvesting of T. Aman rice where soils remain moist suitable for dibbling sunflower.
Key words: Rice variety, Rice-Sunflower cropping sequence, system productivity
11. IMPACT OF COMMUNITY BASED TRAINING ON RICE PRODUCTION
TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION
M. Harunur Rashid1*
, M. Khairul Islam Rony2
, Debabrata Mahalder2
, M. Rafiqul Islam2
and
Timothy Russell2

7. Status: Submitted d on Bangladesh Agronomy Society (BSA) Journal
ABSTRACT
Rice production technology adoption requires minimizing knowledge gap through farmers’
training. The present piece of research was undertaken to study the impact of training on rice
production under Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA-BD) project in terms of
extent of adoption of improved rice production practices by the male and female farmers. As a
regular activity of CSISA-BD, rice production training for farmers have been conducted in
different parts of Bangladesh with a view to adopt rice technologies narrowing knowledge gap.
Under the project, training was given to 531 farmers in greater Khulna region during June-July,
2012. A total sample of 177 farmers, consisting of 145 male and 32 female trained farmers was
randomly selected for the study. The findings indicate that irrespective of gender, more than
sixty percent adopter adopted 76-100% improved practices of rice production. Overall
technology adoption was higher by the male led adopter compared to female led adopter. Among
the male adopter, 76 to 100% technology was adopted by the 66.22% trainees while majority of
the female led trainees (42.86%) adopted 26-50% technologies. Irrespective of male and female
led adopters, a portion of participants were not convinced to adopt row transplanting (20.60%),
skipped row planting (22.03%) and bird perch for controlling insects (20.90%), uses of
appropriate potassium (10.73%) and sulphur (13.56%) fertilizers. The results indicated that the
technologies related to higher cost involvement either in seedbed or in the main field and
confusion to yield reduction was not adopted to some extent. Higher rate of adoption of
technologies showed the tendency of increased grain yield of rice. From the results, other
extension methods could be integrated with training to increase the adoption of less adopted rice
production technologies.
Keywords: Extent of Adoption; Impact of training; Rice production technologies