Implications of plant geometry and weed control options in designing a low-seeding seed-drill for dry-seeded rice systems

► Hybrid rice has the potential to grow in dry-seeded conditions if seeds can be planted at low seedling rates. ► Herbicide-treated plots had fewer rice plants than the weedy and weed-free plots when rain occurred before crop emergence. ► Herbicide treatment provided 81-93% better weed control than the weedy treatment, which resulted in 54-125% yield advantages over the weedy treatment. ► Study suggests that hybrids can be grown at low seeding rates or at 20-cm plant-to-plant spacing, provided that there is no herbicide phytotoxicity on crop emergence and rice plant density is uniform.