TITLE:
Performance of Different Cultivars in Direct Seeded Rice (Oryza sativa L.) with Various Seeding Densities
AUTHORS:
Asif Ameen, Zubair Aslam, Qamar Uz Zaman, Ehsanullah, Shahid Ibne Zamir, Imran Khan, Muhammad Junaid Subhani
KEYWORDS:
Seeding Density, Direct Seeded Rice, Leaf Area Index, Kernel Quality
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.5 No.21,
October
10,
2014
ABSTRACT: Optimum seeding
density is necessary to achieve the production potential of a cultivar in all
crops. To investigate the performance of different cultivars in direct seeded
rice in response to various seeding densities, a field experiment was conducted
at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during the kharif 2012. Super basmati (fine rice)
and KSK-133 (coarse rice) were sown using seeding densities of 30, 45,
60 and 75 kg·ha-1. Results indicated that leaf area index and crop growth
rate varied among rice cultivars as well as various seeding densities. The
growth of rice at seeding density of 75 kg·ha-1 was higher than rest of treatments.
The response of rice yield and its components like number of productive
tillers, number of kernels per panicle and 1000-kernal weight differed
significantly under the influence of cultivars and various seeding densities.
Seeding density of 75 kg·ha-1 remained superior for both rice
cultivars regarding final yield. This treatment furnished kernel yields of 3.83
and 5.49 t·ha-1 in fine and coarse rice, respectively which were
significantly higher than other treatments. However, Kernel quality was
improved in terms of lower number of sterile and chalky kernels at lower
seeding densities (30 kg·ha-1). Based on these findings, it is
concluded that using seeding density of 75 kg·ha-1 for direct seeded fine and coarse
rice cultivars is beneficial in terms of better growth and higher yield but
kernel quality is reduced by increasing the seeding density.