Post date: Apr 12, 2012 3:15:57 AM
These 3 growth phases consist of a series of 10 distinct stages. These stages are numbered and described as follows:
Stage 0 is from germination to emergence:
Stage 1 is called seedling:
Stage 2, tillering:
and Stage 3 is stem elongation:
These first 4 stages make up the vegetative phase, the first phase of rice plant growth.
Stage 4 is panicle initiation to booting:
Stage 5 is heading or panicle exsertion:
and Stage 6 is flowering:
Stages 4, 5, and 6 constitute the reproductive phase, the second phase of rice growth.
Stage 7 is the milk grain stage:
Stage 8, the dough grain stage:
and Stage 9, the mature grain stage:
Stages 7 through 9 correspond to the ripening phase, the last phase in the development of the rice plant.