Planting of seedlings is done in two ways

Random transplanting

• Transplanted at random
• Distance from plant to plant is not uniform
• Difficult to operate a rotary weeder or and other machinery for intercultural operations.

Straight row planting.

Seedlings are planted in straight rows.

Advantages

• Weeding operations are more efficiently done either by rotary weeder or by hand,
• Proper plant spacing makes uniform growth of plants possible and
• Other field manage­ment operations, such as spraying and fertilizer top dressing are made easier.

Disadvantage 

• labour cost is high.
• Spacing varies with season, variety and soil fertility.
• How­ever, spacing between rows and between plants should not exceed 25 cm.

Steps for transplanting operations:

• The planting wire is placed along any base line and each end of the wire is tied to a bamboo pole so that the wire is about 10 cm above the soil level.

• Seedling bundles are distributed throughout the plot and set planters along planting wire.

• Seedling bundle is held in such way as to facilitate detaching the seedlings. Right numbers of seedlings are detached from the bundle, protecting the roots by holding them in three fingers while inserting them into the soil right under a mark on the planting wire. The seedlings are planted not shallower than 1.5 cm but not deeper than 5 cm (wet bed seedlings). When the first row has been planted, shift the planting wire to the next row and move backward to plant the subsequent row. When the last row has been planted, remove planting wire etc.

• After transplanting, keep water depth at about 1 cm generally for 3 to 4 days until the plants recover.

• Ten days after transplanting, replace all missing hills with extra seedlings previously saved.

Advantages of transplanting:

• Plant population becomes more assured.
• Since nurseries occupy only 1/10 of area of the main crop, the irrigation, control of insects and diseases and other management become easier to reduce the cost of raising seedlings as compared to a broadcast wet crop of the same age. Nurseries raised in advance, enable the crop to be planted in the field at the right time.
• The seedlings are grown up at the time of transplanting and they are able to compete with young weeds that spring up. Weed control and other inter-cultural operation are much easier, particularly in row planting.

Disadvantages of Transplanting:

• Labour cost is high
• Seedlings are exposed to possible injury during handling
• Plants tend to grow more slowly than direct seeding because of recovery time after transplanting,

• Harvesting is delayed.

Plates: Random Transplanting