A field case study was performed to investigate the effect of shallow ponding in paddy field on irrigation water requirement of direct seeded rice. In addition, an economic analysis was made to see the effect of no-till direct seeded rice on cost reduction. A field study was performed at a 2.1ha paddy field in Kimjae city, Chonbuk province from 1991 to 1999. Various direct seeding methods such as dryland seeding, wetland seeding, and no-till wetland seeding were introduced. Then, cost reductions due to the direct seeding and no-till were calculated. In addition, to investigate the effect of shallow ponding on irrigation water requirement, field measurements such as irrigation water volume, drainage water volume, rainfall depth, and ponding depth, were made at a 40a plot within the same area in 1988 and 1990. The results of the shallow ponding study showed that the irrigation water depth, rainfall, and the drainage depth were 379mm, 458mm, and 448mm in 1988 growing season, and 274mm, 819mm, and 736mm in 1990, respectively. The shallow ponding irrigation method saved irrigation water by about 20% with higher yield compared with the traditional method. The economic analysis showed that won \640,000 per ha can be saved by direct seeding due to no nursery cost, and \1,220,000 per ha due to no-till and no nursery cost. The yields ranged 540 to 640 kg per 10a during the study period with an average of 590kg per 10a. If these cropping techniques with no-till direct seeding and shallow ponding depth for rice cropping prove to be advantageous with further study, they can be adopted for the most of the paddy fields in Korea.

A field experiment was carried out to observe the weed control effects of vetch and to evaluate vetch characteristics on clay loam soil in no-till direct-sown rice-vetch cropping systems. The effects of weed control, forage productivity, and N content of vetch plants were investigated. With the progress of plant growth, density of Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus L.) gradually decreased, but densities of foxtail and other weeds decreased steeply due to the depression by the over-shaded vetch canopy in a no-till direct-sown rice-vetch cropping paddy field. The vetch density in tillage systems was lower than in notillage cropping systems. Lower vetch density occurred with an increase in foxtail density and other weeds. Weed control effect increased by the progress of vetch growth, which indicated that the vetch canopy over-shaded the weeds. Vetch straw was degraded rapidly submergence after with water at the time of wet sowing of rice. Early harvesting of vetch seed resulted in lower seed germination. To acquire enough seedlings without re-sowing, the harvesting of seed should be delayed at least 28 days after the flowering stage in order to ensure the vetch population is sustainable in a no-till direct-sown rice-vetch cropping system. In order to improve the survival of vetch plants, vetch seeds should germinate from the heading .stage to before the full-ripening stage of rice plants. To enhance the percent of over-wintering survival, vetch seeds should germinate no later than the end of October in southern Korea. The dry weight of vetch plants increased with the progress of vetch growth until the flowering stage but N content decreased for 30 days from before the flowering stage (2.9%) until the ripening stage (1.8%). We concluded that Chinese milk vetch could have an effect on weed control before the flowering stage, sustainability without re-sowing of seed annually, and effective green manure for rice pre-crop in no-till direct-sown rice-vetch relay cropping systems.