Directseededriceispromisingalternativetotraditionaltransplanting,butrequiresappropriatecropandwatermanagementtomaintainyieldperformanceandachievehighwaterproductivity.Presentstudyevaluatedtheeffectofseedprimingandirrigationoncropestablishment,tillering,agronomictraits,paddyyield,grainqualityandwaterproductivityofdirectseededriceinalternatewettinganddrying(DSR-AWD)incomparisonwithdirectseededriceatfieldcapacity(DSRFC).Seedprimingtreatmentswereosmo-primingwithKCl(2.2%),CaCl2(2.2%)andmoringaleafextracts(MLE,3.3%)includinghydro-primingascontrol.Amongthetreatments,seedosmo-primedwithMLEemergedearlierandhadhigherfinalemergence,followedbyosmo-primingwithCaCl2.TilleringemergencerateandnumberoftillersperplantwerethehighestforseedprimingwithCaCl2inDSRAWD.Totalproductiveandnon-productivetillers,paniclelength,biologicalandgrainyields,harvestindexwerehighestforseedprimingwithMLEorCaCl2inDSR-AWD.Similarly,grainquality,estimatedintermsofnormalgrains,abortiveandchalkygrains,wasalsothehighestinDSR-AWDwithMLEosmo-priming.BenefitcostratioandwaterproductivitywasalsothehighestinDSR-AWDforseedprimingwithMLE.Inconclusion,seedprimingwithMLEorCaCl2canbesuccessfullyemployedtoimprovethedirectseededriceperformancewhenpracticedwithalternatewettinganddryingirrigation.
