Effect of Growth Regulating Compounds for Mitigating Moisture Stress in Transplanted Rice

Background: To assess the impact of growth-regulating compounds on the root traits, nutrient uptake and yield of transplanted rice under moisture stress conditions, a field trial was conducted at the Wetland farm of SRM College of Agricultural Sciences, Baburayanpettai, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India during the Sornavari (Apri-Aug) season 2024. Methods: Field experiment was laid out in split-plot design with three replications. The treatments are foliar application growth regulators and induced moisture stress viz., Moisture stress free control (conventional irrigation), where the field was irrigated with a 5 cm depth of water one day after the earlier ponded water had evaporated (M1), moisture stress at panicle initiation stage (M2) and moisture stress at flowering stage (M3) in main plots and foliar application of growth regulating compounds in sub-plots, potassium silicate @ 1% (S2), seaweed extract @ 2% (S3), brassinolide @ 0.04% (S4) and control without foliar application of growth regulating compounds (S1). Result: The moisture stress at panicle initiation stage significantly reduced all the growth and physiological parameters, including rice yield, when compared to the flowering stage. Based on the results, it could be concluded that when the crop suffered moisture stress during any critical stages, spraying one per cent potassium silicate was effective in mitigating moisture stress in order to attain the higher grain yields in rice and increased income for economic viability.