Response of Paddy Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Morphological Characteristics to Nitrogen Fertilizers in Taveta, Kenya
Isaac Righa Chawana
School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Taita Taveta University, P.O.Box 635-80300, Voi, Kenya.
James Gacheru
School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Taita Taveta University, P.O.Box 635-80300, Voi, Kenya.
Marianne Maghenda
School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Taita Taveta University, P.O.Box 635-80300, Voi, Kenya.
Justin Maghanga
School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Taita Taveta University, P.O.Box 635-80300, Voi, Kenya.
Anne Kelly Kambura
School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Taita Taveta University, P.O.Box 635-80300, Voi, Kenya.
John Kimani
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, Industrial Crops Research Institute, P.O.Box 16-80109, Mtwapa, Kenya.
Mwamburi Mcharo *
School of Agriculture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Taita Taveta University, P.O.Box 635-80300, Voi, Kenya.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of applying nitrogenous fertilizers on the morphological traits in six paddy rice varieties in Taveta, Kenya. The six paddy rice varieties, including local control, were tested during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The experiments were laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. The main plot was the fertilizer treatment while the subplot was the varieties tested including NIBAM-11, K2-9, MWIR-2, R-1081, Silewa, and a local control Saro. The fertilizer treatments were no fertilizer, farm yard manure (FYM) alone, FYM+Urea fertilizer, and FYM+CAN fertilizer. Significant differences (P < 0.05) among varieties were observed for all the morphological traits that were assessed. Silewa was the tallest plant (111 cm), had the highest number of grains per panicle (163), and also the highest 1000-grain weight (29.2 g). Fertilizer treatments had significant effects on plant height, leaf length, number of tillers, panicle length, and number of grains per panicle. FYM+Urea resulted in the highest number of grains per panicle while FYM alone resulted in the highest 1000- grain weight (25.56 g). Varieties significantly interacted with fertilizers for the number of grains per panicle. Leaf length had significant direct association with 1000-grain weight (r = 0.427) and grains per panicle (r = 0.874). It can be recommended that there is an opportunity to use farm yard manure alone or in combination with an inorganic fertilizer to improve yield traits while reducing dependence on inorganic fertilizers.
Keywords: Rice, fertilizer, grain, variety, correlation