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 Why we chose integrated farming
‡ Due to increase of human population day by day
we attract combine agricultural crop.
‡ Combine or integrated crops are more beneficial
to us.
‡ The profit of integrated farming is just double in
comparison to single crop production.
‡ The farming practices have different features to
address, and are also limited by the
environmental conditions prevailing at the time.
‡ Rice field-fish culture, also popularly referred to as rice
cum fish culture, is a traditional integrated fish-rice
production system.
‡ The earliest practices can be traced back to more than
2,000 years ago.
‡ India is the largest producer of fish and rice in the world.
‡ Fish culture in rice fields is a traditional integrated fish
farming practice.
‡ This traditional food production system has gone through
a series of changes in the past three decades, which can
be divided into a number of evolutionary phases.
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‡ Depending on the origin of fish stock, rice-fish farming

system can be broadly classified into
Capture system: In this system, wild fish enter the rice
field from adjacent water bodies, grow and subsequently
reproduce in these flooded fields.
‡ These species are self-recruiting species, which are
usually small in size (<25 cm>), which are able to enter
the paddy field and spend all, or part of its life cycle here.
‡ The farmers/local people are then able to harvest and
utilize, without the need of stocking.
‡ Most of the self-recruiting species are prolific breeders
and the paddy fields serve as a breeding ground and
nursery ground.
‡ For the rural people who do not have their own
water body to do aquaculture, harvesting of
these fishes from the paddy fields .helps to meet
their protein requirement and also to get an
additional economic return by selling these
fishes.
‡ Some of the common fishes, which are generally
found in the paddy fields, are Danio, Murrels,
Perches, Catfishes, Loaches etc.
Culture system: Here, the rice fields are stocked
with fish fingerlings and cultured.
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‡ The preparatory cultivation involved in this mode
of simultaneous culture of fish with paddy is
essentially the same as that of paddy cultivation.
‡ The changes associated with the layout of the
field involve rising of the embankments and
construction of a channel of 1 metre depth.
‡ This channel being at a lower level always
retains a greater depth of water irrespective of
the submergence of the main plot and thus
facilitates easy movement of the fishes whereas
the planted area serves as the feeding ground of
fishes
‡ The plot is submerged and puddled as in case of
paddy cultivation.
‡ A basal dose of fertilizer may be added as per
soil nutrient status.
‡ Transplanted paddy is preferred for the
integrated culture practice. 'Ngoba' (local
improved variety) of paddy is considered good
for rice-fish system under terrace land conditions
in medium altitudes.
‡ CRM-10-3630 (Mashuri mutant variety) of paddy
is recommended for the mono-cropped valley
land conditions in the medium altitudes.
‡ Transplanting of paddy, besides having good effect of
paddy yield, provides easy movement and the paddy
area facilitates for feeding of fishes.
‡ A spacing of 15 cm or 20 cm between the rows and the
plants may be provided.

‡ While transplanting of paddy, the channel area should

be kept free from paddy.
‡ After 15 to 20 days of transplanting, and after the
establishment of the root systems, the paddy field is
gradually flooded to a level of 15 cm.
‡ After the paddy field is flooded, the fish fingerlings are
stocked at the rate of 6000 nos. per hectare.
Land preparation for paddy cum fish culture
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˜ap between plant to plant in mature crop
‡ The common carp, !
 

is suitable for
simultaneous culture in hills condition of Meghalaya due
to its cold tolerance, less water requirement and easy
propagation qualities.
‡ In addition to common carp, the Indian major carps viz.,
catla, rohu and mrigal and also some prawn species can
be grown in the integrated rice-fish system.
‡ Air breathing fishes can also be introduce / culture with
paddy
‡ For producing table size fishes and to reduce the loss
due to mortality and predation, it is advisable to stock
fingerlings of about 3 to 4 inches.
‡ Supplementary feeding with rice bran and mustard oil
cake (1:1 ratio) @ 1% of the total biomass may ensure
good growth of fishes.
‡ However, supplementary feeding is not essential and
even domestic kitchen wastes may be fed to the fishes.
‡ The harvesting of fishes may be done at the time when
the paddy fields are drained out for the harvest of paddy.
‡ Also, in some cases, the fishes are kept temporarily in
the outer channel when the water level is lowered for
harvesting of paddy and again subsequent to harvesting,
if the land remains fallow,
‡ The plot is converted into temporary ponds by raising
the water levels and the fishes are cultured for few more
months as long as the water can be retained in the field.
‡ The growth achieved during 4 months rearing averages
150 to 200 gm depending on the climatic conditions.
‡ A production of 300 to 350 kg/ha can be
achieved during the period depending on the
climatic conditions and natural productivity
status of the soil and water.
‡ Rice fish integration provides a net annual
income which accounts for several fold increase
over traditional practice
‡ It also facilitate crop diversification, their by
reducing investment risk and also generation
year round employment opportunity in farm
 Marketing
‡ Fish harvested from the paddy field are
marketed at local market a live or fresh condition
‡ Because of higher marketed demand , live fish
sold @ 80/-per kg and fresh fish @100/- per kg.
‡ During the lean season the market price
fluctuates.
‡ Marginal fish farmers sell their produce in fish
market or in the paddy field itself
 Conclusion
‡ The paddy field retains water of 3-8 months in a year
and paddy cum fish culture provides an additional supply
of fish crop
‡ The culture of fish and paddy fields which remains
flooded even after the paddy is harvested might also
serve as off season occupation for farmers
‡ The main precaution in paddy cum fish culture is
selection of better fish species and advance paddy
species.
‡ During the duo rearing period paddy and fish no
chemical insecticide /fertilizer apply in the entire paddy
field.