Contribution of environmental factors to tillering and yield of rice during dry season in Bauchi, Nigeria

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted during the dry seasons of 2005 and 2006 at the Fadama Research Farm of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi (10°17' N, 9°49' E, 609 m above sea level) to study the contribution of environmental factors such as day and night soil temperatures, atmospheric temperature, sunshine hours and relative humidity on tillering and yield of two rice varieties after obtaining yield from the ten varieties of rice studied. The highest (FARO 44) and the lowest (NERICA 7) yielding varieties were used for the study. Tiller number and yield obtained from the response of the two varieties to the environmental factors were correlated and path coefficients were computed. The results showed that day and night soil temperatures with atmospheric temperatures strongly correlated with tiller number and yield of the two varieties. Atmospheric temperature however, gave the highest direct contribution among the environmental factors to tiller production and yield. Total direct contribution of 53.85 and 45.15% during tillering and 14.35 and 20.75% for yield of FARO 44 and NERICA 7 respectively was made by the influence of atmospheric temperature. A much lower percentage contribution to tiller production and yield was obtained when mutual associations of the environmental factors were analyzed. However, higher residual values of 51.55% and 61.60% for FARO 44 and NERICA 7respectively were obtained when direct and combined contribution of the factors of the environment to yield was analyzed. These results highlight the importance of atmospheric temperature as an environmental factor predictor variable in determining tillering and yield of rice under irrigation during dry season in Bauchi, Nigeria.


Keywords: Rice, path coefficient, soil and atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, Nigeria

IJOTAFS Vol. 1 (1) 2007: pp. 42-47