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Response of Rice Varieties Grown in Semi‐deepwater Ecosystem to Foliage Pruning and Nitrogen Fertilization
Author(s) -
Sharma A. R.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of agronomy and crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.095
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-037X
pISSN - 0931-2250
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-037x.1996.tb00475.x
Subject(s) - panicle , pruning , fertilizer , human fertilization , agronomy , crop , yield (engineering) , field experiment , horticulture , mathematics , biology , metallurgy , materials science
Field experiments were conducted at Cuttack, India, in 1992 and 1993 using two semi‐tall (Panidhan and CR 580‐5 of 180 days duration) and two tall (Amulya and CR 626‐26‐2‐3 of 170 days duration), elongating and photosensitive rice varieties to study their response to foliage pruning at varying levels of nasally applied N fertilizer (0, 30, 60 and 90 kg N ha −1 ). Pruning at the collar level of the topmost leaf was done either once at 90 or 120 days of growth, or twice at both the stages. The crop was sown during the end of May in dry soil and subsequently grown under a semi‐deepwater regime (0–80 cm water depth). The dry weight of pruned foliage was more in the tall than in the semi‐tall varieties and it increased with an increase in the level of N fertilization and delay in pruning. Two prunings produced greater foliage yield than one pruning. Foliage pruning once at 90 days of growth had no effect on the grain yield of all varieties. However, pruning at 120 days of growth decreased the yield of Amulya and CR 626‐26‐2‐3, particularly in 1992, possibly because of less time (25–30 days) available for the crop recovery before flowering. Further, pruning twice at 90 and 120 days of growth reduced the grain yield of all the varieties significantly due to a reduction in their panicle weight. Application of N fertilizer beyond 30 kg N ha −1 did not increase the grain yield under no pruning treatment, but the crop responded significantly up to 60 kg N ha −1 under one pruning and up to 90 kg N ha −1 under two prunings, despite its adverse effect on crop performance. The crop lodging in response to increased N application was delayed by about a fortnight due to foliage pruning but its beneficial effect was not reflected in the grain yield. The results indicated that the green leafy foliage of the tall elongating rice varieties could be harvested 40–50 days before flowering for feeding the cattle without impairing their productivity under semi‐deepwater ecosystem.