ABSTRACT

The demand for rice in the market is on the increase hence intensive rice cultivation has been introduced to increase rice production and meet the country’s need for food security. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of indigenous microorganisms and system of rice intensification on rice yield. A high yielding variety of Abakaliki rice (FARO 44) was collected from Ebonyi State University and transferred to Biotechnology Research & Development green house for nursery. Seeds were sown in soil-filled nylon bags, placed in the green house and allowed to grow for 21 days. Nutrient medium for growth of indigenous microorganisms (IMOs) was formulated using brown sugar, cooked milled rice and water spinach mixture. The treatment was grouped into four. Group 1 was a mixture of IMOs + system of rice intensification (SRI), group 2 was supplemented with IMOs only, group 3 was supplemented with SRI only, while group 4 (control) was normal soil with no added preparation. The soil samples were allowed to stand for 20 days before transplanting. After 21 days in nursery, the rice plants were transplanted onto the soil buckets at the rate of 3 stands per bucket. The plant height, leaf area, leaf wet and dry weight and NPK composition of root and leaf samples were determined. The result showed that plant height differed significantly (p<0.05) ranging from 9.33±0.58 cm to 28.55±2.45 cm across the treatment groups, the leaf area also differed significantly (p<0.05) ranging from 12.68±1.08 cm2 (group 4) to 74.05±12.95 cm2 (group 1). Meanwhile, the result also revealed that the leaf wet weigh (0.94±0.09 g), dry wet (0.26±0.06 g) as well as leaf and root nitrogen (1.543±0.004 % and 0.736±0.002 %) and potassium (0.317±0.00 % and 0.299±0.00 %) were significantly (p<0.05) higher in group1 followed by group 2 as compared to other groups. This study has revealed that the use of organic formulations and IMOs has the potential to improve the nutrient uptake as well as performance of cultivated rice species. Hence, there is need to adopt this method in order to boost rice yields. Keywords: Indigenous microorganism, Rice intensification, Oryza sativa, nutrient uptake
Publication date: 01/04/2020

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2020/April/MS_IJBPAS_2020_5002.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2020/9.4.5002