Bio-inoculant and foliar fertilizer in combination with soil-applied fertilizer on the yield of lowland rice

Issue Date

12-2012

Abstract

This study was conducted at the Central Experiment Station, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna during 2009 dry season (DS) and 2009 set season (WS), to evaluate the effect of bio-inoculant and foliar fertilizer, in combination with soil-applied fertilizer on the yield of lowland rice; and to determine the best timing of foliar fertilizer application within the reproductive and grain filling stages of rice.

The effects of bio-inoculants in combination with varying levels of soil-applied inorganic fertilizer applications varied with season and treatment combination. BioGroe® (BG) application improved yield through production of spikelets and increased grain weight. Bio-N® (BN) application improved the yield through increase in number of panicles and production of heavier grains. BioCon® (BC) application increased the number of panicles and percent filled spikelets during dry season. The effect of bio-inoculant varied with levels of soil-applied fertilizer. The best combination for BN treatment is at 25% recommended rate (RR) with foliar fertilizer application during wet season and 50% RR during dry season, which is comparable to 100% RR. BG application is effective during wet season. Under 50% RR, BG-treated plants have similar grain yield with that under 100% RR fertilizer level.

Foliar fertilizer application also improved grain yield when applied at flowering stage and/or 1 week after flowering, due to the improvement of grain-filling percentage and grain weight. Foliar fertilizer application at these stages can improve yield even at 50% reduction in soil-applied fertilizer application, which did not differ with the 100% RR. Hence, foliar fertilizer application at appropriate timing may substitute for 50% of soil-applied fertilizer during dry season.

Based on the results, the application of bio-inoculants and foliar fertilizer could be a good alternative in reducing the amount of soil-applied fertilizers by as much as 50%, thus a reduction in overall production cost without sacrificing the economic yield.

Source or Periodical Title

Philippine Journal of Crop Science

ISSN

0115-463x

Volume

37

Issue

3

Page

55-63

Document Type

Article

Frequency

tri-quarterly

Physical Description

tables, graphs

Language

English

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