Panicle Length Research Articles

Crop establishment methods and management practices impact on rice yield parameters in central Punjab

The field experiment was conducted to study the effect of varied crop establishment methods and management practices on yield parameters of cultivars ‘PR 122’, ‘PR 126’ and ‘Pusa 44’ during kharif 2020 and 2021. The direct seeded rice (DSR) method exhibited greater plant height, dry matter production and effective tillers per square meter, while puddled transplanted rice (PTR) method showed advantages in panicle length, 1000 grain weight, sterility % age and grain yield. However, the difference in these yield attributing factors between the two establishment methods were found to be statistically non-significant. The PTR method had higher numbers of grains per panicle and harvest index, while straw yield was significantly higher in the DSR method. Plant height, dry matter production, effective tillers per meter square, sterility % age, and straw yield were highest in Pusa 44 while no. of grains per panicle and harvest index were the highest in PR 126. Among nitrogen levels, plant height, dry matter production, effective tillers per meter square, panicle length, no. of grains per panicle, sterility % age and straw yield were significantly higher with 125 % of the recommended dose of nitrogen while the harvest index was significantly higher in leaf colour chart treatment. Rice cultivation practices under DSR, cultivar PR 126 and nitrogen application according to LCC are the better outcomes as compared to other treatments.

Association study of allelic variation identified at yield contributing loci in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The knowledge of functionally characterized genes and linked markers that govern grain yield and its related traits were used to unravel the markers/genes that associate with diversity of yield traits in a panel 30 novel rice genotypes comprising of indica, japonica, aromatic, landraces, interspecific crosses (O.glaberrima/O.sativa) etc. The ANOVA showed significant differences (P=<0.001) for all traits among the genotypes. Molecular analysis was done by employing 37 gene-specific markers targeting 24 yield governing genes in rice. Two markers viz., RM223(YLD) on chromosome 8 and GW004(GW2, LOC_Os02g14720) on chromosome 2 were identified as polymorphic. Average PIC (polymorphic information content) value for these primers was 0.37, suggesting the availability of accountable variability at these loci. Cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into three clusters. Marker-trait-association analysis revealed significant association of the marker GW004 with panicle length, plant height and filled grains in rice. Pearson correlation study also supported the molecular associations through significant phenotypic associations for trait pairs plant height and filled grains, panicle length and plant height. The phenotypic variance explained (R2%) by the marker across panicle length, plant height and filled grains was ≥15%, suggesting major role of the locus/gene in controlling respective traits. Thus, GW004 marker could be employed in breeding programs for simultaneous selection of three traits panicle length, plant height and filled grains. From the current study it can be concluded that allelic variation studies using novel genotypes can result in the identification of suitable donors along with trait associated markers for rice yield improvement.

Study on Genetic Variability for Forage Yield and Quality Traits in Forage Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor L. Moench

The initial research related to germplasm screening was carried out in the experimental area of Instructional Dairy Farm, GBPUAT Pantnagar during kharif season 2018. The experimental material for this experiment consisted of two hundreds and eighty diverse germplasm lines of sorghum along with six checks viz., SSG 59-3, Pant Chari- 5, Pant Chari- 6, CSV-21 F, CSH-22S, and CSV-24SS. The germplasm lines were evaluated in Augmented Block Design for nineteen forage yield related traits and thirteen quality traits. The statistical analysis for genetic variability was done using analysis of variance (ANOVA), heritability (h2), genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV), and genetic advance (GA). The analysis of variance revealed that the genotypes and checks were showing a highly significant differences for all the traits under study indicated existence of inherent genetic differences among genotypes for different characters. Mean performance of forage yield and quality related traits exhibited a wide range of variability. GCV and PCV values were observed low for most of the characters whereas high for anthracnose, zonate leaf spot and shoot fly incidence. The value of genetic advance was observed high for leaf area, green fodder yield per plant, dry fodder yield per plant, hydrocyanic acid content, plant height, anthracnose, and shoot fly incidence were relatively more than other characters. Genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed low for days to maturity, dry matter per cent, in-vitro dry matter disappearance, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, cellulose content whereas high for leaf area, flag leaf width, panicle length, panicle width, 1000-grains weight, grain yield per plant, green fodder yield per plant, dry fodder yield per plant, total soluble solids, silica content, anthracnose, zonate leaf spot and shoot fly incidence. Heritability values were found high for all the traits under study. The genotypes bearing the desired values for different genetic variability parameters and mean performance for can be exploited in future breeding programmes for the improving forage genotypes. These genotypes can be used as donor parents in crop improvement programme for improving forage yield and quality related traits along with improved resistance against anthracnose, shooty fly and zonate leaf spot.

Genetic variability, association and diversity analysis of yield and its component traits in rice (Oryza sativa) germplasm

An experiment was conducted during winter (rabi) season of 2022 at ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad, Telangana to evaluate extent of genetic variability, heritability, diversity and the relationship between yield and its component traits in a collection of 60 rice germplasm accessions. Results showed that germplasm accessions exhibited ample genetic variability and diversity for yield traits. Based on per se performance, inter crosses between the genotypes IC458483 with high grain yield, IC210775 with more panicle length, IC75919 with high 100-grain weight, IC75980 with more productive tillers and IC75965 with high protein content could produce positive transgressive segregants for improving respective traits. Plant height, total and effective tillers, grain yield and 100-grain weight traits which exhibited the highest heritability and genetic advance could be vital for selection in hybridization programmes. Crossing among genotypes of diverse clusters specifically VI, VII and VIII is suggested as this could create a broad variation useful for selecting genotypes with both high yield and long panicles.

A High-Throughput Method for Accurate Extraction of Intact Rice Panicle Traits.

Rice panicle traits serve as critical indicators of both yield potential and germplasm resource quality. However, traditional manual measurements of these traits, which typically involve threshing, are not only laborious and time-consuming but also prone to introducing measurement errors. This study introduces a high-throughput and nondestructive method, termed extraction of panicle traits (EOPT), along with the software Panicle Analyzer, which is designed to assess unshaped intact rice panicle traits, including the panicle grain number, grain length, grain width, and panicle length. To address the challenge of grain occlusion within an intact panicle, we define a panicle morphology index to quantify the occlusion levels among the rice grains within the panicle. By calibrating the grain number obtained directly from rice panicle images based on the panicle morphology index, we substantially improve the grain number detection accuracy. For measuring grain length and width, the EOPT selects rice grains using an intersection over union threshold of 0.8 and a confidence threshold of 0.7 during the grain detection process. The mean values of these grains were calculated to represent all the panicle grain lengths and widths. In addition, EOPT extracted the main path of the skeleton of the rice panicle using the Astar algorithm to determine panicle lengths. Validation on a dataset of 1,554 panicle images demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method, achieving 93.57% accuracy in panicle grain counting with a mean absolute percentage error of 6.62%. High accuracy rates were also recorded for grain length (96.83%) and panicle length (97.13%). Moreover, the utility of EOPT was confirmed across different years and scenes, both indoors and outdoors. A genome-wide association study was conducted, leveraging the phenotypic traits obtained via EOPT and genotypic data. This study identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with grain length, width, number per panicle, and panicle length, further emphasizing the utility and potential of this method in advancing rice breeding.

Assessing the productive potential of high-yielding rice varieties on acid sulfate soils in the tidal swampland of Central Kalimantan

Abstract Tidal swampland holds significant agricultural potential including cultivating rice. Farmers in these regions typically cultivate local rice varieties. Breeding rice techniques have led to the development of superior rice well-suited to thrive in tidal swamplands. This research was conducted on acid sulfate soil within a tidal swampland located in Terusan Karya Village, Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan, during the 2021 dry season. The study employed a completely randomized block design with two replications. The experimental treatments comprised nine high-yielding rice varieties: Inpari IR Nutri Zinc, Cakrabuana Agritan, Inpari 3, Inpari 32, Inpari 42, Inpari 47, Inpara 2, Inpara 8, and Inpara 10. The parameters were observed, including plant height, panicle number per hill, panicle length, and grain yield. The high-yielding varieties of rice planted in acid sulfate tidal swamplands exhibit varying growth and yield performances. Grain yields of rice ranged from 5.45 to 7.30 t ha−1 of dry-milled grain. The highest grain yield was shown by Inpari 3 (7.30 t ha−1) and Inpari 32 (7.04 t ha−1). High heritability values are indicated by the traits of dry harvest and milled grains, while wide variability is shown by characters such as plant height, panicle length, grain dry harvest, and dry milled.

Multi-trait genome-wide association studies reveal novel pleiotropic loci associated with yield and yield-related traits in rice

Rice yield is a complex trait affected by many related traits. Traditional single-trait genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have limitations when studying complex traits, as they cannot account for the genetic relationships among multiple traits. Multi-trait GWAS, which can consider the relationships among multiple traits and identify pleiotropic loci, is more suitable for complex traits such as rice yield than single-trait GWAS. In this study, we conducted a multi-trait GWAS on 11 two-trait combinations of yield and yield-related traits with 575 hybrid rice varieties across two environments. All of these yield-related traits showed significant genetic correlation with yield (YD), including filled grains per panicle (FGPP), kilo-grain weight (KGW), tillers per plant (TP), primary branch number (PB), secondary branch number (SB) and main panicle length (MPL). In total we identified 44 pleiotropic quantitative trait loci (pQTLs), including 29 new pQTLs not found in single-trait GWAS. We then screened 23 pQTLs showing common effects in two traits as key pQTLs. These key pQTLs were subsequently analyzed for haplotype analysis and identified 13 pleiotropic candidate genes. Finally, we identified two optimal yield-enhancing allele combinations by pyraming superior haplotypes: GS3-GL3.1-OsCIPK17 for the YD-KGW combination and GNP12 for the YD-FGPP and YD-SB combinations. This study provides pleiotropic candidate genes and allele combinations that exhibit superior differences in both yield and yield-related traits, offering valuable information for future high-yielding rice breeding.

Poultry Litter Compost and NPK fertilizers Induced Growth and Yield Performance of Boro Rice at Rooftop Farming

The effects of inorganic fertilizers and decomposed poultry litter on the growth and yield performance of boro rice (Oryza sativa L.) were assessed by conducting a pot experiment on the rooftop of a building in Charfasson town, Bhola. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD), having eight treatments with three replications each. Different agronomic parameters were measured at 30-day intervals after sowing of seeds and yield parameters after harvesting. The highest height (82.67 cm) at 90d, number of leaf (37.67) at 120d, longest leaf ( 39.67 cm) at 90d, and length of panicle (27.17 cm), number of grains/panicle (153.33), weight of grain/panicle (3.74 g), fresh weight of grains (62.35 g/pot), dry weight of grain (51.53 g/pot), dry weight of root (13.43 g/pot), rice yield (51.53 g/pot) or (5.67 t ha-1), highest B:C ratio (4.51), respectively, were found in the treatment T7: (3.0 t PL ha-1 + N100P25K90 kg ha-1). The results of treatments T7 and T8 are statistically identical. The overall best growth performance and yield of boro rice were achieved in T7: (3.0 t PL ha-1 + N100P25K90 kg ha-1) treatment on a rooftop farming system on the south coast of Bangladesh. Biodivers. Conserv. Bioresour. Manag. 2024, 10(1): 99-108

EFFECTS OF ORGANIC MATTER AMENDMENTS ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL AND YIELD OF RAINFED RICE

Organic matter amendments play a pivotal role in improving the soil’s physiochemical properties and crop productivity. This study was conducted to examine the effects of various organic matters on soil physicochemical properties and the yield of rainfed rice in Bangladesh. The research was conducted following a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with seven treatments, viz. cow dung slurry (CDS), rice husk biochar (RHB), cow dung (CD), vermi-compost (VC) and trico-compost (TC) used @ 2 t C ha-1, and bacterial inoculant (BI) @ 4 ml plot-1. The findings indicated a reduction trend of bulk density as compared to the initial soil in all the organic matter-treated soils, where the highest reduction percent was found in the RHB (1.45%) treated plot, followed by CDS (0.74%), VC (0.74%), TC (0.74%), CD (0.73%) and BI (0.73%). Significantly higher total N was observed in inorganic matter-treated post harvested soil compared to initial soil. The highest total N was recorded in TC (0.12%) and CDS (0.12%) treated soils, followed by CD (0.11%), VC (0.11%), BI (0.11%) and RHB (0.10%). The significantly highest CEC (6.48 meq100g soil-1) was noted in RHB-added soil, while the lowest value (5.70 meq100g soil-1) was found in initial soil. The RHB exhibited the maximum quantity of P, S, and exchangeable K in post-harvest soils, with 12.75, 19.73 mg kg-1 soil, and 0.14 cmol kg-1, respectively. Plant height, tiller hill-1, panicle length, grain panicle-1, and 1000-grain weight were greatly influenced by the various treatments. In the context of grain yields, the treatments can be rated as follows: CD>CDS>VC>RHB>TC>BI>control. Thus, it was concluded that organic amendments improves soil fertility and the yield of rice, particularly in rainfed condition.

Keragaan Mutan M3 Padi Beras Merah (G16) Hasil Iradiasi Sinar Gamma 200 Gy

This study aims to determine changes in yield and correlation between quantitative traits of mutant plants of the M3 generation of G16 brown rice irradiated with 200 Gy gamma rays. The research method used was an experimental method which was carried out with field experiments and took place in paddy fields in Tatar Hamlet, Nyurlembang Village, Narmada District, West Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara which was carried out from May to November 2022. The research was arranged using a Randomized Block Design (RAK) in a partitioned design. The treatment consisted of 33 genotypes resulting from gamma irradiation mutations and 3 comparators as test genotypes namely G16, Cigelis and Inpari 32. Each tester genotype was repeated 3 times, so that 42 experimental units were obtained. Observations were analyzed using analysis of variance and a 5% level of phenotypic correlation coefficient. Quantitative traits that show significant results were tested further using the Honest Significant Difference (BNJ) at the 5% level of significance. The results showed that 200 Gy of gamma irradiation did not change the yield of the M3 mutant strain. On the other hand, the criterion of the phenotypic correlation coefficient of the observed quantitative traits showed a significant difference with the results. Plant height and filled grain weight gave a very strong real correlation, while strong criteria were indicated by the longest panicle and number of filled grains, and panicle length and empty grain weight obtained a sufficiently significant correlation, and very weak criteria were obtained on flowering age, total tiller number, number of productive tillers, number of empty grain and 100 grain weight

Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) application modulated the morpho-physiological and yield traits of fragrant rice under well-watered and drought conditions

BackgroundChanging climate is causing erratic rainfall and prolonged drought periods, thus posing serious threats to crop productivity. Owing to severity of drought events, it is imperative to take proactive measures to enhance the resilience of drought sensitive crops like rice. Therefore, the present study was carried out to improve the drought stress tolerance in rice through gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) application.MethodsThe experiment was included four GABA concentrations i.e., 0 mM as control, 1 mM, 1.5 mM, and 2 mM, two water levels i.e., 100% and 50% field capacity (referred as FC100 for well-watered and FC50 for drought conditions, respectively), and two fragrant rice cultivars i.e., Super Basmati and Basmati-515.ResultsThe findings unveiled a comprehensive improvement in various parameters with GABA application in fragrant rice under both well-watered (FC100) and water-limited (FC50) conditions, compared to the control. Specifically, GABA induced enhancements were observed in plant height, root length, fresh weight, dry weight, total soluble protein content, and total free amino acid content across both cultivars. Moreover, GABA application significantly improved peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) enzyme activities, alongside elevating anthocyanin levels, while concurrently reducing H2O2 contents in both FC100 and FC50 treatments. Furthermore, the positive impact of GABA extended to morphological traits, with notable increases in panicle length, total tillers and productive tillers per hill, branch and grain numbers per panicle, and 1000-grain weight for Super Basmati and Basmati 515 cultivars under both water regimes, compared to Ck. Similarly, the grain yield increased by 31.01% and 27.32% under FC100 and 36.85% and 27.71% under FC50 in Super Basmati and Basmati-515, respectively, in response to GABA application, compared to Ck. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) revealed significant variances attributed to Dim1 and Dim2, with 86.1% and 4.0% of the variance, respectively, across three bi-plots encompassing rice cultivars, water levels, and GABA treatments. Notably, all tested indices, except for H2O2 and non-productive tillers per hill, exhibited positive correlations amongst themselves and with rice yield, further emphasizing the beneficial effects of GABA application on fragrant rice under well-watered and drought conditions.ConclusionsGABA significantly improved fragrant rice performance under both well-watered (FC100) and water-limited (FC50) conditions. Moreover, integrating GABA application into rice cultivation practices could not only improve the crop resilience to drought stress but also potentially benefiting the future food and nutritional security globally. However, however; further research is needed to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the functionality of GABA in fragrant rice, particularly under drought conditions.

Performance of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars under Nutrient Management Practices in Eastern Plateau and Hills Zone of India

Aim: To study the effect of rice cultivars and nutrient management practices on growth parameters, yield attributes, yield, nitrogen uptake and comparative economics. Study Design: Three varieties and four nutrient management are treated in split plot design with plot size of 4m × 3m. The treatments comprised of three varieties, V1: CR Dhan – 206, V2: CR Dhan 210 and V3: CR Dhan 602 were laid out in main plot and four nutrient management comprised of N1: 100% Recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through fertilizer, N2: 50% RDN through fertilizer + 50% RDN through FYM, N3: 50% RDN through fertilizer + 50% RDN through azolla and N4: 50% RDN through FYM + 50% RDN through azolla are tested in subplot with replicate thrice. Place and Duration of Study: The field experiment conducted at Chatabar farm, Faculty of agricultural sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha during kharif season, 2022. Results: The experimental result from this experiment indicated that CR Dhan 206 cultivate with 100% RDN through fertilizer produced maximum plant height, number of filled grain per panicle, panicle length, yield (grain and straw), harvest index, nitrogen uptake by grain and straw, net return and return per rupees investment. Conclusion: Cultivation of CR Dhan 206 with 100% RDN (80-kg/ha) produced highest grain yield, net return and return per rupees investment.

Effect of cutting schedules and nitrogen management on forage and seed production of oats (Avena sativa L.)

A field research entitled “Effect of cutting schedules and nitrogen management on forage and seed production of oats (Avena sativa L.)” was conducted to find out the effect of cutting schedules (uncut, cut at 50 DAS and cut at 60 DAS) and nitrogen management (120 kg N ha-1, 90 kg N ha-1 + one spray of nano urea 2 ml litre-1, 90 kg N ha-1 + one spray of nano urea 4 ml litre-1, 60 kg N ha-1 + two sprays of nano urea 2 ml litre-1 and 60 kg N ha-1 + two sprays of nano urea 4 ml litre-1) on productivity of oats and find out the effect of foliar application of ‘Nano Urea’. The results revealed that significantly higher plant height, number of tiller 0.5 m-1 row length and dry matter accumulation 0.5 m-1 row length were observed under uncut over cut at 50 DAS and cut at 60 DAS.The results revealed that cut at 60 DAS resulted in significantly highergreen fodder yield as compared to cut at 50 DAS. Yield parameters viz. number of effective tillers 0.5 m-1 row length, panicle length, number of grains panicle-1, 1000 grain weight, weight of grain 0.5 m-1 row length, grain, straw, biological yield and harvest index of oat was significantly higher under uncut as compared to cut at 50 DAS and 60 DAS. Grain yield increased under uncut over cut at 60 DAS by 146.8 per cent and straw yield increased under uncut over cut at 50 DAS and cut at 60 DAS by 69.1 and 182.7 per cent, respectively. Further, uncut recorded significantly higher nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content and uptake in grain and straw as compared to cut at 50 DAS and 60 DAS. Further, number of tiller and dry matter accumulation increased with the application of 120 kg ha-1. Significantly higher green (35.02 t ha-1) and dry (7.35 t ha-1) fodder yield was obtained with the application of 120 kg N ha-1 as compared to application of 60 kg N ha-1 + two sprays of nano urea 2 ml litre-1 and 60 kg N ha-1 + two sprays of nano urea 4 ml litre-1, however, it was at par with application of 90 kg N ha-1 + one spray of nano urea 2 ml litre-1 and 90 kg N ha-1 + one spray of nano urea 4 ml litre-1. Yield parameters viz. number of effective tillers and 1000 grain weight increased with the application of 120 kg N ha-1. Further, grain yield increased with the application 120 kg N ha-1over 90 kg N ha-1 + one spray of nano urea 2 ml litre-1, 90 kg N ha-1 + one spray of nano urea 4 ml litre-1, 60 kg N ha-1 + two sprays of nano urea 2 ml litre-1 and 60 kg N ha-1 + two sprays of nano urea 4 ml litre-1 by 17.4, 14.2, 35.1 and 28.2 per cent, respectively. Straw yield increased with the application of 120 kg N ha-1 over 60 kg N ha-1 + two sprays of nano urea 2 ml litre-1 by 15.3 per cent. Further application of 120 kg N ha-1 recorded higher phosphorus and potassium content over rest of the treatments.

Rice Big Grain1 improves grain yield in ectopically expressing rice and heterologously expressing tobacco plants.

Functional genomics through transgenesis has provided faster and more reliable methods for identifying, characterizing, and utilizing genes or quantitative trait loci linked to agronomic traits to target yield. The present study explored the role of Big Grain1 (BG1) gene of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in yield improvement of crop plants. We aimed to identify the genetic variation of OsBG1 in various indica rice cultivars by studying the allelic polymorphism of the gene, while also investigating the gene's potential to increase crop yield through the transgenic approach. Our study reports the presence of an extra 393bp sequence having two 6bp enhancer elements in the 3' regulatory sequence of OsBG1 in the large-grain cultivar IR64 but not in the small-grain cultivar Badshahbhog. A single copy of the OsBG1 gene in both the cultivars and a 4.1-fold higher expression of OsBG1 in IR64 than in Badshahbhog imply that the grain size is positively correlated with the level of OsBG1 expression in rice. The ectopic expression of OsBG1 under the endosperm-specific glutelin C promoter in Badshahbhog enhanced the flag leaf length, panicle weight, and panicle length by an average of 33.2%, 33.7%, and 30.5%, respectively. The length of anthers, spikelet fertility, and grain yield per plant increased in transgenic rice lines by an average of 27.5%, 8.3%, and 54.4%, respectively. Heterologous expression of OsBG1 under the constitutive 2xCaMV35S promoter improved the number of seed pods per plant and seed yield per plant in transgenic tobacco lines by an average of 2.2-fold and 2.6-fold, respectively. Improving crop yield is crucial to ensure food security and socio-economic stability, and identifying suitable genetic factor is the essential step towards this endeavor. Our findings suggest that the OsBG1 gene is a promising candidate for improving the grain yield of monocot and dicot plant systems by molecular breeding and genetic engineering.

Field Evaluation of Rice Lines Derived from Suakoko 8 X Bao Thai for Iron Tolerance in the South Saharan African Farming System.

Rice is a major grain crop in numerous countries. In lowland areas, high iron levels in the soil severely hinder its cultivation. The current study explored high-yielding and Fe-toxicity-tolerant irrigated lowland rice (340 lines) among a population derived from a cross between Suakoko 8 and Bao Thai in Edozighi and Ibadan, Nigeria. In contrast to Ibadan, the soils in Edozighi contain a significant amount of iron. For the stated purpose, we carried out a two-year experiment using an alpha lattice design. The data showed significant differences between genotypes for the days to heading, plant height, number of tillers per plant, number of panicles per plant, panicle length, and grain yield. The results revealed that multiple characteristics had both direct and indirect effects on cultivated rice yields. There was a direct and positive influence on the number of days in the 50% heading period (0.31), a direct and negative effect on plant height (-0.94), a direct and positive effect on tiller and panicle numbers, and a direct but negative effect on panicle length (-0.56). The leaf bronzing score was adversely correlated with yield, panicle length, and plant height, while it was positively correlated with the number of panicles, tillers, and days to heading. The findings showed significant changes in yield and yield characteristics between genotypes. Grain yields ranged from 283 to 11,700 kg/ha in the absence of iron in the soil, contrary to 0 to 8230 kg/ha in soil with iron toxicity, with losses estimated between 6 and 94%, demonstrating the resulting disaster. In contrast to the elite parents and varieties used in this study, the ten top genotypes exhibited smaller losses in yield. The authors strongly recommend using these lines for further studies as donors or releasing them in farmer fields in Africa.

Effect of Different Levels of Zinc on Yield of Various Varieties of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different level of zinc on various variety of rice during two consecutive kharif seasons year 2022 and 2023 respectively. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with four variety of rice (Sarju-52, NDR-2064, NDR-2065 and Swarna Sub-1) in Main plot. Each main plot was further divided in five Sub plot i.e (Control, Zn @ 2.5 kg/ha, Zn @ 5 kg/ha, Zn @ 7.5 kg/ha and Zn @ 10 kg/ha).the result recorded that the variety NDR 2065 maximum panicle length (24.8cm ,25.3), number of panicles m-2 ( 134.1, 137.5), number of grains per panicles (149.1 ,152.6), test weight (23.6g, 23.7g) grain yield (44.19, & 46.01) q ha-1,straw yield (67.31 & 70.13) q ha-1,and biological yield (111.50 &116.14) q ha-1during 2022 and 2023 respectively. Among Zn level Maximum value of yield attributes and yield was recorded under Zn @10 kg/ha which was at par with 7.5 kg/ha, and 5 kg/ha for number of panicles, number of grains per panicle, 1000 grain seed weight, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield during both years.

Trait analysis of short duration boro rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties in northern region of Bangladesh: Insights from heatmap, correlation and PCA

The role of genetic variation is utmost importance in the selection of a desirable genotype for breeding programs. In the northern region of Bangladesh, the performance of five short duration boro rice varieties (BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan74, BRRI dhan81, BRRI dhan88, and Bangabandhu dhan100) on yield and yield-contributing traits were evaluated in four locations. Yield attributes tiller hill-1 (TN), panicle hill-1 (PN), filled grain panicle-1 (FG), panicle length (PL), 1000-grain weight (TGW), and harvest index (HI), showed a positive correlation with grain yield (GY). Conversely, spikelet sterility (SSP) and unfilled grains panicle-1 (UFG) showed negative associations with grain yield. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the first three components accounted for 89.60% of variability. The highest positive eigenvalue was observed in DF, DM, BY, HI, PN, SY, TN, PL and GY in PC1, indicating their significant influence on the overall genotype variations. PC2 was primarily driven by plant height (PH) and FG, while PC3 driven by TGW and UFG. The results suggest that grain yield is highly influenced by FG, PH, DM, DF, PN, TN, PL, TGW, SY, BY, and HI. These components highlighted the importance in distinguishing rice genotypes with higher grain yield potential. By considering these traits, BRRI dhan74 have outperformed other varieties, followed by BRRI dhan88 and Bangabandhu dhan100. BRRI dhan74 is most suitable for all four location followed by BRRI dhan88. The traits such as PN, PL, FG, TGW, PH, & HI significantly influence rice yield and should be prioritized in breeding programs aimed at developing high-yielding rice varieties.

Effect of Crop Establishment Methods and Weed Management Practices on Productivity and Bioenergetics of Rice

Background: SRI and aerobic rice are one of the techniques of growing rice under water scarcity areas where meeting water requirement is becoming a global threat. Weeds are another threat to yield of rice irrespective of different establishment methods. Until checked, it can decline rice yield and quality up to more than 70%. SRI and aerobic rice have different densities of weeds and integrated weed management can be applied to suppress the weeds. Considering the current scenario, research was conducted to investigate growth, yield and bioenergetics of rice under different establishment methods and weed management. Methods: The experiment entitled “Effect of crop establishment methods and weed management practices on productivity and bioenergetics of rice” was carried out in split plot design with main plots, viz., M1- aerobic rice (AR) and M2- system of rice intensification (SRI) and five subplots W1- pre-emergence (pendimethalin @1 kg a.i ha-1) fb post-emergence (bispyribac-sodium @20g a.i ha-1) (PE+POE), W2- pre-emergence (pendimethalin @1 kg a.i ha-1) fb cono weeding at 15, 30, and 45 DAT/ DAS (PE+CW), W3- weed free (WF), W4- weedy check (WC), W5- stale seedbed followed by post-emergence herbicide (bispyribac-sodium 10% SC 20 g a.i ha-1) (SSB+POE) in split plot design with three replications taking the variety ‘Pusa Basmati-1121’ as a test crop. Result: Among the establishment methods, SRI recorded significantly higher growth attributes like plant height and dry matter production and yield attributes like number of panicles per hill, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, test weight, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, and harvest index. Among the weed management treatments, WF recorded significantly higher growth attributes like plant height, number of tillers per hill, dry matter production and yield attributes like number of panicles per hill, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, test weight, grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, and harvest index that was followed by treatment PE+CW. Maximum net return and B:C ratio was observed in the treatment combinations M2W2- SRI + (PE+CW). The maximum total energy input was found in the treatment combination M1W1- AR+ (PE+POE) and the maximum total energy output was found in the treatment combination M2W3- SRI + WF. The energy intensiveness was observed to be maximum in the treatment combination M1W4- AR + WC and the maximum energy efficiency index was observed in the treatment combination M2W3- SRI+WF.

AGRONOMIC AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LOWLAND RICE CULTIVATION USING THE INTEGRATED CROP AND LAND MANAGEMENT APPROACH

The research investigated the implementation of Integrated Crops and Land Management (ICLM) model, a holistic farming approach combining various technological elements to enhance productivity. Conducted from April to September 2022 in Bhuana Jaya Village, Tenggarong Seberang Sub-District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan Province, on an 8-hectare site, the research focused on key components: utilization of superior rice varieties (Mekongga, Cakrabuana Agritan, and Ciherang Janger), spaced planting methodology (Jajar Legowo), and a balanced fertilization approach encompassing chemical, organic, soil conditioner, and biological fertilizers (50 kg Urea, 300 kg NPK Phonska, 400 kg Petroganik, 10 kg Antazam, and 10 kg Petrobio ha-1, respectively). Liquid Organic Biofertilizer (LOB) were introduced at a rate of 10-20 liters ha-1. The research assessed vital parameters such as plant height, tiller count, panicle length, branch number per panicle, panicle weight, and rice productivity. Statistical analyses included t-tests for plant response and F-tests to evaluate the model's impact on productivity. Economic viability was gauged using the Benefit-Cost (B/C) ratio. The findings revealed substantial productivity gains: 4.13-6.03 t MDG ha-1 (Mekongga), 7.02 t MDG ha-1 (Cakrabuana Agritan), and 7.85 t MDG ha-1 (Ciherang Janger). Moreover, the economic analysis resulted in a favorable ratio of 2.15, indicating the model's financial viability or increased by 69-73%.

Zinc-exchanged montmorillonite clay: A promising slow-release nanofertilizer for rice (Oryza sativa L.)

This study is to examine zinc exchanged montmorillonite (Zn-MMT) as a potential slow release nanofertilizer for rice crop. The effective intercalation of zinc within the montmorillonite inter layers was firmly established via analytical techniques including Zeta potential, FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The efficacy of Zn-MMT was examined by evaluating its ability to facilitate controlled zinc release, as confirmed through an incubation study. Subsequently, the kinetics of zinc release was analyzed by different mathematical models such as Zero-order kinetics, First-order kinetics, the Higuchi model, and the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. From the pot culture study spanning 90 days the results indicated that Zn-MMT had significantly high plant height, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Dry Matter Production (DMP), number of tillers per hill, panicles length, increased grain and straw yield, in comparison with conventional zinc sulphate (ZnSO4). Total phenol, total protein and total chlorophyll content were significantly at higher levels with Zn-MMT treated rice crops as compared to conventional fertilizers and control. A similar trend was seen with phytochemicals such as Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Carbonic Anhydrase (CA). Notably, rice grains harvested from Zn-MMTtreated crops exhibited significantly higher zinc content than those using other treatments. This Zn-MMT can be confirmed as a better alternative to conventional zinc sulphate fertilizers owing to its slow-release of nutrient into the soil and thus increased zinc use efficiency.