Rice Field Duck Raising Technology
Rice field duck raising technology, provided by the 5830 Agriculture URL Navigation:
This technology leverages the water in rice paddies and ducks' characteristics of playing in water and eating weeds, organically combining crop farming with animal husbandry to create a mutually beneficial growth environment for rice and ducks. This helps produce rice that tastes good and is safe to eat. Rice field duck raising technology is an effective way to produce pesticide-free rice. As early as the beginning of the 1990s, countries like Japan and South Korea widely applied this technology to grow organic rice. In particular, there are villages dedicated solely to rice-duck farming in South Korea. The economic benefits of rice field duck raising technology are very significant, making it worthy of promotion.
I. High Economic Benefits of Rice Field Duck Raising Technology
Rice field duck raising forms an ecological environment integrating rice and ducks, combining planting with breeding, creating a mutually beneficial relationship, achieving a double harvest of both rice and ducks. It transforms single income into dual income, resulting in high comprehensive benefits. Rice grown in fields where ducks are active has a higher yield compared to conventionally cultivated rice, generally increasing production by 50-100 kilograms per mu. Additionally, the quality of the rice is excellent, with a pleasant taste. The produced rice is pesticide-free, offering high economic returns, with each kilogram of duck-rice selling for at least 6.00 yuan, netting over 1000.00 yuan per mu more than conventional cultivation. Adding the income from duck farming makes the economic benefits very attractive.
II. Rice Field Duck Raising Technology Contributes to Pesticide-Free Rice Production
1. Reduces pollution from inorganic fertilizers in paddy environments and rice
Ducks defecate frequently and in large quantities; one duck excretes about 10kg of feces in the paddy (duck feces are rich in nutrients, 10kg of duck feces equates to N49g, P2O572g, K2O32g), effectively enriching the soil. Duck feces directly discharged into the field, after fermentation, provide timely nutrients for rice growth, supplying abundant nutrition for rice. By releasing ducks into the rice fields, the first two years can involve reduced application of inorganic fertilizers, and after 3-5 years, no inorganic fertilizers need to be applied at all, reducing harm to humans from fertilizers, especially nitrogen fertilizers.
2. Reduces pesticide usage
With ducks active in the paddies, they can aerate the water, which helps raise water and soil temperatures, while also loosening the soil and improving aeration, providing sufficient oxygen to the rice roots, promoting root development. Ducks foraging among the rice plants consume various pests such as leaf rollers and stem borers, reducing pesticide use and minimizing harm to rice growth, facilitating the production of pesticide-free rice.
3. Eliminates herbicide pollution on rice
Ducks have diverse dietary preferences and can eat many weeds in the rice paddies. They also trample weeds, acting as natural weed controllers. Therefore, when ducks are released into rice fields, chemical herbicides are generally not needed. Utilizing ducks' herbivorous nature achieves the same weeding effect as chemical herbicides without worrying about herbicide contamination, saving labor and costs.
III. Key Points of Rice Field Duck Raising Production Technology
1. Duck Release Techniques
(1) Number of ducks per unit area
The number of ducks per unit area directly relates to the effectiveness of weed control in the rice field and the cost of raising ducks. Too few ducks reduce weed control efficiency; too many ducks result in insufficient weeds for consumption, although weed control may be better, feed costs increase. Based on research over two years in Hailin City, releasing 30 ducks per mu is the appropriate standard, reducing feed costs while achieving good weed control.
(2) Age-appropriate ducklings
Rice-duck farming focuses on local sourcing to reduce costs, selecting local ducks. Releasing ducks that are too old can flatten young rice seedlings, while those too young struggle to adapt to the rice field environment. Therefore, the age of the ducks at release is crucial. Ideally, 7-day-old ducklings should be released, with a maximum of 15 days post-hatching.
(3) Building duck coops
A 20 square meter nursery can accommodate over 1000 ducks and can be built on vacant land next to the rice field. If no large or medium-sized nurseries are available, small duck coops measuring around 20 square meters (3m x 4m x 1.2m) can be constructed at the intersections of rice field ridges, approximately three per hectare, accommodating over 500 ducks. These provide ducks with rest areas to protect them from wind, rain, and cold (especially at night). Attention should be paid to maintaining cleanliness, dryness, and ventilation in the duck coops. Observations should be made regularly, and sick ducks isolated and treated promptly. Disease prevention measures should be implemented. The coop floor should be wooden, with plastic sheets sealing the sides and top, leaving a small door on the leeward side.
(4) Setting up fences
Fences prevent ducks from escaping and also protect against predators like rats and weasels. Fences can be made of nylon rope nets or fine wire mesh. However, existing nylon rope nets often have large gaps that can lead to duck deaths, so fine wire mesh is preferable. Fence height should be 50cm, requiring approximately 400m of fence per hectare.
2. Timing of Duck Release
Ducks should be released promptly after the rice seedlings recover from transplanting shock, around May 28th. Releasing too early could flatten the rice seedlings, affecting the number of harvested plants; releasing too late allows weeds to grow larger, making them harder for ducks to consume and reducing weed control efficiency. Therefore, ducks should be released 7-10 days after transplanting, once the seedlings have established new roots and recovered from transplant shock. The earlier the release after seedling recovery, the better.
(1) Timing of Duck Retrieval
Ducks should be retrieved at the end of the panicle initiation stage, just before heading, around July 25th. At this time, ducks usually weigh about 2kg and have strong feeding capabilities. If not retrieved in time, they will start consuming nearly mature rice grains, leading to reduced rice yields.
(2) Feeding Ducks
During the day, ducks forage on weeds and insects in the rice fields. In the evening, supplementary concentrated feed such as soybean meal, wheat bran, broken rice, and cornmeal should be provided. For the first half month after release, due to their limited foraging ability, additional concentrated feed should be added in fixed locations, gradually reducing until the ducks learn to forage independently.
(3) Duck Release Techniques
Ducks are naturally timid, so they should not be chased out of the coop manually, as this can scare them, causing them to cluster together and avoid grazing. Instead, the coop door should be carefully opened, allowing the ducks to exit and forage on their own. Ducks should not be allowed to graze in areas recently treated with pesticides, fertilizers, or containing decaying animals.
III. Key Points of Rice Cultivation Technology
The operation method of rice field duck raising technology is relatively simple and easy to learn, without changing the original rice cultivation system.
1. Timely Early Transplanting, Sparse Manual Planting
Transplanting begins when the average daily temperature stabilizes above 12-13°C, around May 15th, avoiding June transplants. Manual planting is recommended, with a planting depth of about 2cm. The depth should not be too deep or too shallow; too deep affects tillering, too shallow causes floating or tipping of seedlings. A planting specification of 9 inches x 6 inches is suggested, with 3-4 basic seedlings per hole. Rows should be straight, holes evenly spaced, and plants accurately positioned, avoiding floating seedlings. Dense planting should be avoided to allow ducks to move freely in the rice fields.
2. Variety Selection
Choose varieties with strong tillering ability, strong resistance, excellent quality, and suitability for local cultivation, such as Shashani and Shangyu 397. Seedlings should be started one week earlier than conventional cultivation to promote the growth of large, robust seedlings.
3. Field Preparation and Fertilization
Autumn plowing to a depth of 15-18cm is recommended. Combine plowing, rotary tilling, and deep loosening methods, integrating dry and wet land preparation to ensure level fields with no more than an inch difference, preventing nutrient and water runoff. Apply well-decomposed organic fertilizer in autumn, approximately 800kg per mu, with straw returning to the field being ideal.
Reduce chemical fertilizer application, halving urea usage and reducing diammonium phosphate by 3-5 pounds per mu. Before puddling, apply 6-8 pounds of urea and 10-13.3 pounds of diammonium phosphate per mu as base fertilizer. Gradually decrease fertilizer application, aiming to eliminate chemical fertilizers within 3-5 years.
4. Growing Healthy Seedlings
Advocate using large or medium-sized greenhouses for dry seedling cultivation. Sow seeds when the average daily temperature stabilizes between 5-6°C, controlling the seeding rate to about 250-300 grams per square meter. Pay attention to temperature and humidity management during the seedling stage, ventilating early and hardening off frequently.
5. Scientific Irrigation
Water layer management should meet the requirements of "strengthening roots, increasing temperature, aerating, and conserving water" to promote plant growth. After transplanting but before regreening, maintain water levels at two-thirds the height of the seedlings to support and protect them. During the effective tillering period, maintain a shallow water layer of 3cm to increase temperature and promote tillering. Midway through the effective tillering period, drain and sun-dry the field for 3-5 days, then restore normal water levels after 5-7 days. From panicle initiation to heading, maintain a water layer of 4-6cm. The rice meiosis phase is the most sensitive period to low temperatures; if temperatures fall below 17°C, maintain a water depth of 10-15cm to protect the developing grains. During heading and flowering, maintain a water layer of 5-7cm. During grain filling to the wax ripening stage, adopt intermittent irrigation, alternating between dry and wet conditions with wet predominance. Begin draining at the initial yellow ripening stage.
6. Harvesting
Harvest when 90% of the rice plants reach full maturity. Ensure careful harvesting and threshing to minimize losses.
7. Pest and Disease Control
Pests are primarily controlled by ducks. Generally, chemical agents are not used unless pest or disease outbreaks require treatment with highly efficient, low-toxicity, low-residue pesticides.
Jinde Agriculture's website: http://www.jindinongye.com
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