Effect of Bio-fertilizer, Organic Manure and Micro Nutrients on Growth Characteristics of Scented Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Nutrient management through organics plays a major role in maintaining soil health due to build-up of soil organic matter, beneficial microbes and enzymes, besides improving soil physical and chemical properties. Therefore, combined use of organic manure and inorganic fertilizers in an integrated manner will give better performance in cereals by sustaining higher yield and maintaining soil health as well. Field experiments were conducted during Kharif seasons of 2021 and 2022 at Crop Research Farm, Nawabganj, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The experiment consisted three scented rice varieties (PB-1509, PB-1121 and PB-1), three bio-fertilizer and organic manure levels (BGA @ 10 kg ha-1, FYM @10 t ha-1 and BGA @ 10 kg ha-1 + FYM @10 t ha-1) and three nutrient management treatments (NPK- 120:60:60 kg ha-1 only, NPK + ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 as basal + FeSO4 1% sprayed at tillering stage and NPK + ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 as basal + FeSO4 1% sprayed at panicle initiation stage). The treatments were accommodated in split-split plot design with three replications. The soil of experimental field was sandy loam in texture having low organic carbon (0.39 %), medium in available nitrogen (179 kg ha-1), low in available phosphorus (13.0 kg ha-1), medium in available potassium (156 kg ha-1), low in available zinc (0.58 mg ha-1) and normal in available iron (7.83 mg ha-1) with normal pH (7.95). Pooled results of two years experimentation indicated that highest value of plant height (96.45, 98.02 and 97.55cm), number of tillers m-2 (285.53, 288.15 and 268.26), fresh weight (66.76, 64.95 and 61.90 g plant-1) and dry weight (55.17, 53.69 and 51.17 g plant-1) at harvest stage was recorded under the variety PB-1121, BGA @ 10 kg ha-1 + FYM @ 10 t ha-1 and NPK (120:60:60 kg ha-1) + ZnSO4 @ 25 kg ha-1 as basal + FeSO4 1% sprayed at tillering stage, respectively. Crop growth rate was also recorded significantly highest in the above treatments and found maximum at 45-90 DAT.