Correlation and Path Analysis of Early-Maturing Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Treated With Zinc at Various Growth Phase

Abstract

The concerned study aimed to determine the correlation and direct and indirect effects to estimate the interaction between production parameters and the zinc content of plant tissues of early maturing rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars. The study comprised the application of zinc at various crop phases, namely, without zinc (Zn0), zinc at the vegetative phase (Zn1), the vegetative and generative phases (Zn2), and the generative phase (Zn3) to three early maturing rice cultivars, Inpari 19, Inpari Cakrabuana, and Inpari Sidenuk. Data analysis used correlation and path analyses. The results revealed that rice grain yield positively correlated with most production parameters. The zinc analysis also showed a positive correlation between zinc content and rice plant tissues. The path analysis indicated that the clumping grain weight had a significant (P ≤ 0.01) positive direct effect (0.75). Meanwhile, panicle density had a significant (P ≤ 0.05) positive direct effect (0.51) on rice grain production per hectare. Path analysis of zinc content in tissues signified that zinc content in leaves had a very significant (P ≤ 0.01) positive direct effect (0.71), In contrast, zinc content in stems had an indirect positive influence (0.33) on zinc content in grain.