Agronomic diagnosis of the rice crop (Oriza sativa)

Rice is the main household crop in the Maury irrigated perimeter. It plays a major role in the food intake of the local population. However, rice cultivation in this area faces serious constraints. On the one hand, yields found by growers are very low; on the other, yields vary from plot to plot. It is necessary to identify the factors responsible for this low yield, and to understand the causes of yield variability. It is with this in mind that this study was carried out. To this end, an agronomic diagnosis of rice cultivation on the Maury irrigated perimeter was carried out. It consisted of agronomic observations on a sample of thirty-three (33) farmers’ plots out of two hundred and seventy-eight (278) over a period of four (4) months, followed by interviews with rice growers. The sampling method chosen was stratified random sampling. The study focused on the following factors: varieties grown, seed source, growing environment, technical itineraries applied.