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Seraph062 t1_j60iepc wrote

Reply to comment by Carnifex in TIL the reason that farmers flood rice fields isn't to water the plants, as you might expect. It's done to keep away pests and weeds, and to protect against uneven rainfall. by Ninja_In_Shaddows

Rice flooding is generally done in areas with a lot of water. So "uneven rain fall" is often "too much" water.

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Zazenp t1_j60se36 wrote

If being submerged under water isn’t considered “too much water”, then what is?

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ZhouDa t1_j60t9te wrote

They submerge the plants in Brawndo.

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Zazenp t1_j60thy8 wrote

Ah, because of the electrolytes…

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vinsanity406 t1_j612m48 wrote

Rice fields have drains of sort to maintain water levels. The one I saw had levees between them, so each field was just a couple of acres. At one end of the field there's a hole cut in to the ground that reaches the 'ground' level of the rice field. Then they installed some railing that you could slide 2x6 boards that would retain (most of) the water.

So with that system, if you got too much rain, it spills over the top board in to drainage areas. The water would never be able to fill past the top board, which was lower than the surrounding ground. Or you could remove boards and completely drain it.

You don't want seedlings fully submerged by spring rain or they won't get oxygen.

Granted this was for a duck blind in a rice field so other systems may well be different.

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KmartQuality t1_j628a01 wrote

Oh, so that's why they grow rice in California.

Makes sense

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