Growth and Yield Performance of IR-36 on Varying NPK Formulations: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the best NPK formulations for IR-36 rice variety under UNP conditions in terms of growth and yield performance. The Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was employed in three replications using the following treatments: F0 (control), FI (25-25-25), F2 (60-25-25), F3 (75-25-25), F4 (100-25-25), F5 (025-25-25), and F6 (150-25-25). The growth performance of the plants was evaluated in terms of initial height of plants after transplanting and final height of plants at maturity in centimeters. The yield component was evaluated in terms of average number of productive tillers/hill, length of panicle in centimeters, average number of filled grains per panicle, dry seed yield per plot in kilograms and computed yield per hectare and net return per hectare and per plot in pesos. Except for the different NPK formulations evaluated, all the recommended technology in rice
production were employed. The data gathered were statistically analyzed using the analysis of variance and the different treatment means were further subjected to the Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) to test their significant difference. Results of the study revealed that 150 kilograms of nitrogen with 25 kilograms each of phosphorous and potassium per hectare significantly outgrew the other treatments tested. Likewise, same formulation F5 (150-25-25) significantly outranked all the other treaments in terms of the average number of productive tillers per hill, average length of panicle, and average number offilled grains per panicle. It also gave the highest dry seed yield per plot and per hectare and highest computed net return per area cultivated. Hence, it is concluded that a formulation of 150-25-25 kilograms NPK per hectare (F5) is the best of all the treatments evaluated.
Therefore the above cited NPK formulation is recommended to be employed in growing rice under UNP soil and climatic conditions, specifically, for IR-36 rice variety.