Evaluation of Stress Tolerant Rice Varieties under Rainfed Condition in Dhubri District of Assam, India

Abstract

Agriculture in flood-prone Dhubri district of Assam is highly vulnerable to climate change-induced submergence, necessitating the adoption of climate-resilient rice varieties to sustain productivity and farmer livelihoods. A field experiment was conducted during kharif 2023 and 2024 in NICRA villages (Udmari and Sreegram) under Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dhubri, Assam, to evaluate the performance of submergence-tolerant rice varieties under rainfed flood-prone conditions. The experiment consisted of three treatments: Ranjit-Sub1, Bahadur-Sub1, and farmers’ variety Ranjit. Results revealed that both stress-tolerant varieties varied significantly (p ≤ 0.05) in improved growth and yield parameters over the farmers’ practice. Ranjit-Sub1 recorded the highest grain yield (4.42 t/ha), followed by Bahadur-Sub1 (4.29 t/ha), compared to 3.66 t/ha in Ranjit. Ranjit-Sub1 showed a yield advantage of 20.9% over the farmers’ variety, while Bahadur-Sub1 recorded 17.3% higher yield. Economic analysis indicated higher gross return (₹93,294.33/ha), net return (₹47,118/ha), and B:C ratio (1.98) in Ranjit-Sub1. The results demonstrate that submergence-tolerant varieties significantly enhance productivity and profitability under flood-affected rainfed ecosystems.