Influence of Water Management and Silica Application on Rice Growth and Productivity in Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Rice cultivation in our study site at Central Java, Indonesia, is constrained by water scarcity and blast disease problems. A field experiment was thus conducted to evaluate the effect of water management and silicon (Si) application (with 500 kg ha -1 of silica gel) on improving rice growth and productivity and blast disease infection in Jakenan, Central Java. Split plot in randomized complete block design with 4 replications was used. The results showed that two water saving methods, intermittent (IT) and aerobic rice (AR) increased rice yield compared to conventional flooding water management. Further, IT showed better root growth and hence lodging resistance and decreased blast disease infection. IT had higher yield potential compared to AR although the yield of IT and AR were not statistically different. Si application gave significant effect on reducing leaf and neck blast infection and also increased stomata density (p < 0.01) in all water treatments. Si application did not result in increased yield but exhibited potential towards improving rice plant growth and production. Since Si fertilizer was never used in rice cultivation in Indonesia, the study reveals that IT combine with Si application was a suitable management for rice production in dry season in water limited Central Java region.

Investigation of negative effects of rice husk silica on komatsuna growth using three experiments

“…Silicon has also been reported to have good effects on humans; it improves bone health and accelerates healing (Henstock et al 2015) as well as improves the immune response and tissue health (Farroq and Dietz 2015). Since 1950s, there have been numerous researches on how silicon affects rice production (Yoshida et al 1959(Yoshida et al , 1962Krishnarao and Godkhindi 1992;Savant et al 1996;Klotzbücher et al 2015;Ito et al 2015;Siregar et al 2016;Waseem et al 2016;Song et al 2017).…”