A field experiment was conducted at the Instructional farm, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala during the period from 2013 to 2014, to study the effect of methods of planting and nutrient management on the growth and yield of rice-based sequential cropping system. The sequential cropping system consisted of rice succeeded by cassava (intercropped with groundnut) and cowpea. The experiment was laid out in Split plot design, comprising three main plot treatments which included methods of planting in combination with weed control measures [M1- Broadcasting of sprouted seeds, M2 - Dibbling (sprouted seeds with drum seeder along with weeding by power weeder) and M3 - Dibbling (sprouted seeds with drum seeder along with stubble mulching)] and five methods of fertilizer application as sub-plot treatments [F1 - Broadcasting (60:30:30 kg NPK ha-1), F2 - Band placement (60:30:30 kg NPK ha-1), F3 - Foliar spray of water soluble complex foliar fertilizer @ 0.5 %, F4 - foliar spray of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and sulphate of potash (SOP) each @ 2%, F5 - Control]. These treatments were replicated five times for rice. For cassava intercropped with groundnut, and cowpea, recommended dose of fertilizer along with 0.5 % foliar spray of water soluble complex foliar fertilizer was applied at 30 and 14 days interval respectively. The results showed that dibbling of rice seeds using drum seeder + stubble mulching along with foliar spray of water soluble complex foliar fertilizer @ 0.5% or band placement of 60:30:30 kg NPK ha-1 registered the highest growth characters as well as yield and yield attributes of rice. The carry over effect of the same treatments was also observed in the succeeding crops. The rice equivalent yield of the cropping system (35.71 t ha-1) was significantly increased by the dibbling of rice seeds using drum seeder + stubble mulching along with the broadcasting of 60:30:30 kg NPK ha-1 in soil. Therefore, basal application of nutrients along with foliar spray of water soluble complex foliar fertilizer @ 5% would help to increase the residual nutrients as well as the yield of rice based sequential cropping system.