Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8879132 | Field Crops Research | 2018 | 4 Pages |
Abstract
Nutrient management can increase crop yield and income, but its effects on yield components are rarely dissected in on-farm research. In this study, we compared aboveground biomass and yield components of rainfed lowland rice under site-specific nutrient management and farmer management from 69 demonstration sites prone to mild to moderate intermittent drought across 9 Philippine provinces over 3 years (the 2011-2013 wet seasons). The sink size (spikeletsâ¯mâ2) was most closely associated with grain yield in all years. Panicle size (spikelets per panicle) increased by 10.4% and 13.0% in 2011 and 2012, respectively, under site-specific nutrient management, with N application around the early reproductive stage of <25â¯kgâ¯Nâ¯haâ1 in farmer nutrient management versus 30-33â¯kgâ¯Nâ¯haâ1 in site-specific management. Higher N application during seedling establishment in farmer nutrient management (55â¯kgâ¯Nâ¯haâ1) than in site-specific management (22â¯kgâ¯Nâ¯haâ1) did not increase panicles mâ2 in any year. Our results demonstrate the yield advantage of site-specific nutrient management in rainfed lowland rice in relatively fertile and less drought-prone environments: enhancing sink size should be the major target of nutrient management; it is unnecessary to apply high amounts of N during seedling establishment to secure a sufficient panicle number; and N application is most important during the early reproductive stage to increase panicle size.
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Authors
Niño P.M.C. Banayo, Crisanta S. Bueno, Stephan M. Haefele, Nenita V. Desamero, Yoichiro Kato,