Effect of iron nutrition on plant growth and yield of aerobic rice

A Field experiments was carried out at the research farm of Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI), New Delhi, India, during Kharif seasons (June–October) of 2011 and 2012 to study the “Effect of iron nutrition on plant growth and yield of aerobic rice”. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design and replicated thrice. Treatments comprised of two rice varieties (PRH-10 and PS-5) and eight sources and modes of iron fertilization-control (no iron), iron sulphate @ 50 kg ha-1 + one foliar spray of 2.0% iron sulphate, iron sulphate @ 50 kg ha-1 + one foliar spray of 0.5% iron chelate, iron sulphate @ 100 kg ha-1, two foliar sprays of 2.0% iron sulphate, three foliar sprays of 2.0% iron sulphate, two foliar sprays of 0.5% iron chelate and three foliar sprays of 0.5% iron chelate. Results indicated that rice variety PRH-10 gave significantly better agronomic performance than PS-5 with respect to growth parameters (plant height, tillers, dry matter accumulation) and yield. Iron nutrition treatments significantly affected the plant height, tillers, dry matter accumulation and yield of aerobic rice. Three foliar sprays of 2.0% iron sulphate produced tallest plants, maximum number of tillers, accumulated highest dry matter and produced maximum yield across all the stages during both the years followed by three foliar sprays of 0.5% iron chelate.