Effects of pre-sowing seed treatments on rice yield, grain quality and soil chemical properties in salt-affected soils

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of sowing density and iron (Fe) coated seeds on rice grain yield, grain quality, and soil properties in saline soils in Phuoc Long district, Bac Lieu province, Vietnam. Experimental treatments include: (T1) Intact dry seed (50 kg seed/ha); (T2) Hydro-primed seed (120 kg seed/ha); (T3) Hydro-primed seed (50 kg seed/ha); (T4) Hydro-primed then sprouted seed (50 kg seed/ha); (T5) Fe-coated dry seed (50 kg seed/ha); (T6) Fe-coated hydro-primed seed (120 kg seed/ha); (T7) Fe-coated hydro-primed seed (50 kg seed/ha); (T8) Fe-coated hydro-primed seed which was sprouted before sowing (50 kg seed/ha); (T9) Hydro-primed then sprouted seed (120 kg seed/ha); (T10) Transplanting (50 kg seed/ha). The results indicated that applying Fe-coated seeds significantly increased tiller number at 45 and 60 DAS compared to free-Fe-coated seeds and transplanting treatments. There was no significant difference in tiller number among treatments at harvest stage. The plant height, yield, amylose, protein contents, gel consistency, soil pH, Eh, and Fe content in soil solution among the treatments did not differ significantly. This study demonstrated that reducing seed rate, broadcasting dry seeds, and coating seeds with Fe could reduce production cost while plant growth, yield and grain quality are maintained.