Performance of rice under different water regimes and plant nutrient sources

Abstract

Field experiment was carried out at the Soil and Irrigation Research Centre, University of Ghana, Kpong in 2015 and 2016 cropping seasons to evaluate the effect of different soil water condition and plant nutrient sources on the growth and yield of rice. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with three replications. Water regime and nutrient source were the main and sub-plot factors, respectively. Water regimes included; continuous flooding (CS), alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and moist soil condition between field capacity and permanent wilting point (MC) while the nutrient fertilizer treatments included no fertilizer (N0), 90 kg N/ha mainly from urea fertilizer (N1), 90 kg N/ha from 12.8 tons of compost (N2) and 45 kg N/ha from urea fertilizer + 45 kg N/ha from 6.4 tons of compost (N3). Results from the study revealed that keeping the soil periodically in aerobic and anaerobic condition through AWD method of water management recorded similar growth and grain yield of rice as with complete submergence of paddy field. Combination of inorganic fertilizer and compost for each to supply 45 kg N/ha under AWD produced the highest rice growth and grain yield. There was a positive and significant correlation between grain yield and growth parameters (plant height, chlorophyll content and above ground biomass accumulation).