Comparison of Silicon Status in Rice Grown Under the System of Rice Intensification and Flooding Regime in Mkindo Irrigation Scheme, Morogoro, Tanzania

Abstract

Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element available in the earth's crust, and is considered as a beneficial element for crop growth especially rice. A study was conducted in Mkindo irrigation scheme, Mvomero District, Morogoro, Tanzania to assess the Silicon status in rice grown under the System of Rice Intensification and continuous flooding at various growth stages. The experiment
was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two treatments which were two water application regimes: T1 was alternate wetting and drying using SRI technology and T2 was continuous flooding. The treatments were replicated three times and the rice variety used was SARO 5 (TXD 306). The experiment was conducted in two seasons from October 2019 to January 2020 and from March 2020 to June 2020. Si status in rice seeds and grains as well as rice plant leaves at various growth stages were evaluated according to elemental analysis based on Energy Dispersive X- Ray Fluorescence and results were analyzed using GENSTAT software. Si content in rice seeds observed prior to the experiment was 6.76%. Si content in rice grains was gradually increasing during reproductive stage and later drops during harvest. Si content in rice plant leaves increased significantly from vegetative to ripening stage whereby the highest Si content was recorded in T1 (12.37%) while T2 recorded the lowest value (10.15%). It was concluded that,
the alternate wetting and drying field conditions enhances adequate uptake of Si compared to continuous flooding practices.

Keywords: Silicon, alternate wetting and drying, System of Rice Intensification, continuous flooding, growth stages.