Influence of Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer Formulations on Rice Yield in the Guinea Savanna Zone of Ghana

Abstract

Low soil fertility has been a major constraint to the increased and sustainable rice production in the Guinea savanna zone of Ghana. Studies were conducted in four locations to evaluate the yield of rice under different fertilization regimes. The fields were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications for each fertilizer treatment. Data were collected on grain yield and seed mass, and subjected to analysis of variance, with treatment means separated at a 5% level of significance. Significant improvement in rice grain yield was realized in all study locations due to the fertilizer treatments. Grain yield improvement of up to 4,280 kg/ha was obtained. The best two performing fertilization regimes in improving rice grain yield were UNIK-CLB+AMI and ACT-CLB+AMI. In general, rice grain yield among treatments containing CropLiftBio (CLB) foliar treatments was statistically similar. Application of ACT+URE or UNIK+ACT with no the CropLiftBio foliar supplementation consistently demonstrated lower grain yields in rice compared to the other fertilizer treatments. Rice grain mass was, however, not significantly impacted by the fertilization regimes in all study locations. From the results of this study, Activa fertilizers used as basal treatment was unsuitable for rice production in the ecology as these generally provided lower grain yields. For maximum grain yield in rice, UNIK (NPK 15:15:15) fertilizer was the most recommended. The basal application of UNIK at 125 kg/ha and topdressing with Amidas at 125 kg/ha with CropLiftBio foliar supplementation will provide better yields for farmers than applying any of the formulations with Activa as a topdress.