Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Rice Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Rasht, Iran.
2 Ph.D. Graduate in Geography and Rural Planning, Rasht, Iran
3 Rice Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Rasht, Iran.
Abstract
Keywords
Main Subjects
Guilan Province, Iran, has extensive rice-growing areas, making the efficient use of paddy fields through second cropping a key strategy for increasing agricultural productivity. However, many paddy fields remain fallow after rice harvest due to the absence of appropriate technical guidelines for waterlogged conditions.
Triticale, a stress-tolerant and high-yielding forage crop, is a suitable candidate for second cropping in paddy systems because of its favorable planting window and establishment after rice harvest. Nevertheless, challenges such as variable soil moisture, fragmented fields, and machinery constraints complicate the selection of an optimal planting method.
As planting methods strongly influence productivity, resource use, and operational efficiency, this study employed the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify and prioritize the most appropriate triticale planting method for second cropping in Guilan’s paddy fields based on local conditions.
Five triticale planting methods—hand sowing, hand spreading combined with disk harrow or furrower, and centrifugal fertilizer spreader combined with disk harrow or furrower—were evaluated using nine technical, operational, and economic criteria. A three-level Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model was developed, and pairwise comparisons were conducted using Saaty’s 9-point scale based on expert judgments from 30 respondents, with consistency ratios below 0.1.
Field measurements were used to estimate effective field capacity, fuel consumption, energy inputs, and operational costs. Energy and cost analyses included both fixed and variable components. All weighting, prioritization, and sensitivity analyses were performed using Expert Choice software.
The results revealed clear differences among planting methods across technical, operational, and economic criteria. Water and drainage management received the highest weight (0.241), highlighting its critical role in Guilan’s water-retentive paddy soils, followed by effective field capacity (0.139), energy consumption (0.122), operational cost (0.121), and labor requirement (0.115). The overall consistency ratio (0.006) indicated high reliability of expert judgments.
Disk-based methods achieved superior sowing depth accuracy (0.283), while the highest seed distribution uniformity was observed for the centrifugal spreader combined with disk harrow (0.337) and furrower (0.309). Furrower-based methods performed best in water and drainage management (0.336). In operational terms, hand sowing showed the greatest adaptability to irregular fields (0.447), whereas the centrifugal spreader + furrower provided the best ergonomics (0.398). The highest effective field capacity was obtained with the centrifugal spreader + disk harrow (0.452).
Although mechanized methods required higher energy input and operational costs, they significantly outperformed manual methods in overall efficiency, seed uniformity, and water management. AHP synthesis identified the centrifugal fertilizer spreader combined with a furrower as the optimal planting method, offering the most balanced performance under paddy field conditions.
The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) identified the centrifugal fertilizer spreader combined with a furrower as the most suitable method for triticale cultivation as a second crop in Guilan’s paddy fields (weight = 0.337). This method showed superior overall performance by effectively integrating technical, operational, and economic criteria, particularly in seed distribution uniformity, water and drainage management, ergonomics, and field efficiency. The centrifugal spreader combined with a disk harrow ranked second (weight = 0.262), excelling in sowing depth and seed uniformity but showing weaker performance in operational and economic aspects. Manual methods, especially hand sowing, ranked lowest (weight = 0.083) due to limitations in uniformity, efficiency, and resource management. Sensitivity analysis revealed that water and drainage management was the most influential criterion, followed by effective field capacity, energy consumption, and operational costs. Overall, the results demonstrate that mechanized systems, despite higher energy use and costs, provide superior agronomic and operational performance. Adoption of a fertilizer spreader combined with a furrower is therefore recommended to improve establishment quality and productivity of second-crop triticale in Guilan’s paddy fields.
This research was conducted with the financial and moral support of the Rice Research Institute of Iran.
Roohollah Yousefi: conceptualization and conducting the research, data collection, statistical data analysis, analysis and interpretation of information and results, preparation of the original draft of the manuscript, review and verification of the results, revision, editing, and finalization of the manuscript.
Afsaneh Berenjkar Gorabi: data collection.
Fatemeh Alipour Mobaraki: data collection.
No artificial intelligence tools were used in this research
Data available on request from the authors.
The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Rice Research Institute of Iran for their financial support in conducting this research.
The authors would like to thank the esteemed reviewers for providing structural and scientific feedback.
The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and any form of misconduct.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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