Effects of Stand Density and NPK Fertilizer on Physiological Parameters of Rice Varieties

Abstract

Two field trials were conducted in 2016 dry season at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) farm Ahmadu Bello University Zaria located at Samaru (Latitude 11º N 39’ Longitude 08º 02’E), 686m above sea level and Kadawa ((Latitude 110 11’ N Longitude 70 38’ E), 500m above sea level to study the effects of stand density and NPK fertilizer rate on physiological parameters of rice varieties. The trials consisted of two lowland rice varieties (FARO 44 and FARO 52), three NPK fertilizer rates (40:20:20, 80:40:40, 120:60:60) kgha-1 and three level of plants/stand density (2, 4 and 6). The treatments were factorially combined and laid out in a randomized complete block design of three replications. The result shows that, increasing NPK fertilizer rate significantly enhanced physiological parameters which translated into higher paddy yield. Except that the application of lower rate of NPK fertilizer produced longer days to 50% heading while the number of days to physiological maturity didn’t show significant response to the application NPK fertilizer. 2 plants/stand density recorded the highest mean value for crop growth rate, relative growth rate and net assimilation rate which translated into higher grain yield. Among the two varieties evaluated, FARO 52 gave higher value for most yield components, however, FARO 44 produced higher grain yield. The interaction between 2 plants/stand densities with the application of NPK 120:60:60 kgha-1 resulted in maximum yield of 6479.3 kgha-1 at Kadawa and 5762.5 kgha-1 at Samaru. The interaction between FARO 44 with the application of NPK 120:60:60 kgha-1 gave maximum yield of 5882 kgha-1. It can be concluded that, sowing FARO 44 at 2 plant/stand with the application of NPK fertilizer at 120:60:60 kgha-1 gave optimum grain yield per ha of 6479.3kgha-1 in Kadawa and 5762.5 kgha-1 in Samaru.

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