Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG)

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Browsing Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG) by Author "Adhikari, B."

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    Impact of rice nursery nutrient management, seeding density and seedling age on yield and yield attributes
    (Scientific Research Publishing, 2013) Adhikari, B.; Mehera, B.; Haefele, S.
    To help farmers in the mid hills of Nepal improve their crop management and rice yields, we conducted a study testing different nursery management options and their effect on grain yield and yield components under rainfed conditions. The experiment was conducted in a farmer’s field during the cropping season 2009 and 2010 at Sundarbazar, Lamjung, Nepal, using a 3-factor factorial RCB design with 3 replications. The three management factors tested were 1) fertilizer management in the nursery, 2) seeding density, and 3) seedling age at transplanting, using the rainfed lowland rice vari-ety Radha-4. There were eight treatment combinations, consisting of two levels of fertilization (0 and 20:20:0:13 kg NPKS ha⁻¹ at 15 DAS), two levels of seeding density (607 and 303 g·m⁻²) and two seedling ages (20 and 40 days old). Two years’ results showed that top-dressed fertilizer in the nursery had no consistent effect on grain yield. However, lower seeding density (303 g·m⁻²) resulted in taller plants, more productive tillers m⁻², less sterility and higher grain yield. In addition, older seedlings (40 days) produced taller plants, more productive tillers, more filled grains, and a higher grain and straw yield. The interaction analysis between both factors indicated that 40 days old seedling with a low seeding density produced the highest grain yield, both in the drought season 2009 and the high-yielding season 2010. The economic analysis confirmed that the treatment with low seeding density and 40 days old seedlings produced by far the highest net returns and B:C ratio in both seasons, independent of the fertilizer treatment. The combination of these two management components is therefore economically viable and profitable, and can be recommended to farm-ers. However, the results need to be confirmed for other varieties used by farmers in the region.