Prospect of rice yield sustainability by optimizing fertilizer doses and crop establishment methods: A study in rainfed drought prone ecology of Jharkhand

Aim: This study aimed to identify the optimal combination of variety, crop establishment method and fertilizer management to enhance rice productivity under the rainfed drought-prone ecology of Jharkhand. Methodology: A field trial was conducted (wet seasons of 2019 to 2021) to evaluate different establishment methods (transplanted, aerobic and wet DSR) under various fertilizer management options (different rate and time of nutrient application) for high yielding varieties (HYVs) and hybrid on yield and yield attributes for three consecutive years. Results: On an average, the plant height and yield attributing parameters (grains per panicle and panicle number m-2) were significantly differed within establishment methods and higher values were recorded in transplanted conditions (106 and 180). Yield attributing characters showed that, different varieties were performing differently and significantly higher panicle number m-2 (170) and test weight (28.3 g) were found with IR-64 Drt 1 (HYV), whereas, the highest number of grains per panicle (108) was observed in PA 6444 (hybrid) followed by DRR Dhan 44 (95). In comparison to HYVs, percentage yield reduction was higher in case of hybrid (around 50%) when the method of establishment was changed from transplanted to direct sowing or aerobic (4.74 t ha-1 in transplanted to 2.40 and 2.18 t ha-1 in WDSR and aerobic method, respectively). Interpretation: In the rainfed drought prone areas, HYVs should be preferred and adopted for cultivation over hybrids as there is very uncertainty in case of transplanted rice cultivation and should opt for other methods of crop establishment like direct seeded rice. Key words: Direct seeded rice, Drought prone areas, Fertilizer management, High yielding varieties, Jharkhand, Rainfed