Boron nutrition under intermittent flooding and drying condition seems sustainable nutrient management technique in rice

Abstract

Water saving rice cultivation is emerging technique to couple with irrigation water shortage due to climate change all over the world. Major issue in these techniques is to compromise yield and quality fatalities because of higher unfilled grain due to nutrients deficiency. Boron fertilization seems to be big management technique to improve rice agriculture due to having imperative role in pollen viability. Thus, a field experiment was conducted to see the impact of boron fertilization both with basal and foliar application methods in water saving rice cultivation systems. Boron, with basal (3 kg borax/acre) and foliar (2% boron) was applied at different growth stages in rice crop grown under various rice cultivation systems; flooded rice, intermittent flooding and drying and aerobic rice. Boron fertilization both with basal and foliar application technique resulted in improved crop performance in all cultivation systems. Rice plants recorded highest yield, yield attributing parameters like productive tillers, panicle length and grain weight with boron fertilization. Quality parameters like sterile kernels, abortive kernels, opaque kernels were significantly reduced with boron fertilization in all rice cultivation systems. Furthermore, normal kernels were enhanced with basal and foliar application of boron nutrition. Likewise, maximum water use efficiency was recorded in foliar application of boron at panicle stage under intermittent flooding and drying condition. Foliar application of boron nutrition at panicle initiation stage was found to be most appropriate in water saving rice cultivation systems.