One of the challenging management practices is to increase rice production using less water. The study was conducted during the harvest of 2010/11 and 2011/12 in the experimental field of Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The objective was to evaluate the yield and water use efficiency at sowing at beginning and end of the recommended time. Treatments were at planting dates (10/01/10 and 12/01/10) 2010/11 harvest, and (9/27/11 and 12/07/11) 2011/12 harvest, with five replicates, the cultivar used was the 'IRGA 424'. There was no difference in the amount of applied water between sowing times, with an average of 5757 and 8420m³ ha-1, respectively for season 2010/11 and 2011/12. The sowing date affected grain yield, with yields of 13 and 24% more in the beginning of the sowing season (10/01/10 and 9/27/11) compared to the end of the sowing date (12/01/10 and 12/07/11), respectively. Sowing early in the recommended period (early October) provides greater yield and more water use efficiency.
rainfall; solar radiation; potential yield; Oryza sativa
