Nitrogen Use and Crop Performance of Rice under Aerobic Conditions in a Semiarid Subtropical Environment

Awan, Masood Iqbal; Bastiaans, L.; Oort, P.A.J. van; Ahmad, Rashid; Ashraf, Muhammad; Meinke, Holger

doi:10.2134/agronj2013.0262

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…This means that application of biochar could be sound agronomic practice that could reduce water stress and improve yield stability. If the application of biochar can optimise water use, then increased rice productivity seems a conceivable result, especially for farmers relying on scarce resources in tropical and subtropical regions (Nabahungu and Visser, 2013;Masood et al, 2014). Furthermore, salinisation is a worrying subject in rice production areas in arid regions of the world (Ahmad et al, 2013;Ghafoor et al, 2012) and an increase in soil moisture with wood biochar application can potentially help to reduce this problem.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar increases plant-available water in a sandy loam soil under an aerobic rice crop system

et al. 2014

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Abstract. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of biochar rate (0, 8, 16 and 32 Mg ha −1 ) on the water retention capacity (WRC) of a sandy loam Dystric Plinthosol. The applied biochar was a by-product of slow pyrolysis (∼ 450 • C) of eucalyptus wood, milled to pass through a 2000 µm sieve that resulted in a material with an intrinsic porosity ≤ 10 µm and a specific surface area of ∼ 3.2 m 2 g −1 . The biochar was incorporated into the top 15 cm of the soil under an aerobic rice system. Our study focused on both the effects on WRC and rice yields 2 and 3 years after its application. Undisturbed soil samples were collected from 16 plots in two soil layers (5-10 and 15-20 cm). Soil water retention curves were modelled using a nonlinear mixed model which appropriately accounts for uncertainties inherent of spatial variability and repeated measurements taken within a specific soil sample. We found an increase in plant-available water in the upper soil layer proportional to the rate of biochar, with about 0.8 % for each Mg ha −1 biochar amendment 2 and 3 years after its application. The impact of biochar on soil WRC was most likely related to an effect in overall porosity of the sandy loam soil, which was evident from an increase in saturated soil moisture and macro porosity with 0.5 and 1.6 % for each Mg ha −1 of biochar applied, respectively. The increment in soil WRC did not translate into an increase in rice yield, essentially because in both seasons the amount of rainfall during the critical period for rice production exceeded 650 mm. The use of biochar as a soil amendment can be a worthy strategy to guarantee yield stability under short-term water-limited conditions. Our findings raise the importance of assessing the feasibility of very high application rates of biochar and the inclusion of a detailed analysis of its physical and chemical properties as part of future investigations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biochar increases plant-available water in a sandy loam soil under an aerobic rice crop system

et al. 2014

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“…() did not work under our conditions, the gravimetric method was used to monitor the soil moisture content for deciding the irrigation timing (Awan et al. ). Before the setup of the experiment, the production systems including CITR, TRII and AR were established in dummy plots which were equal in size to plots of the real experiment.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mulching Improves Water Productivity, Yield and Quality of Fine Rice under Water‐saving Rice Production Systems

Jabran

Ullah

Hussain

et al. 2014

J Agronomy Crop Science

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Water-saving rice production systems are inevitable in the wake of severe water shortage in rice-growing regions of the world. Mulches can improve water productivity, yield and quality of rice through increase in water retention. Studies were conducted for two consecutive years to assess the potential role of mulches (plastic and straw) in improving the performance of water-saving rice production systems in comparison with no mulch used and conventionally irrigated transplanted rice. Water-saving rice production systems in this study comprise aerobic rice and transplanted rice with intermittent irrigation. These systems saved water (18-27 %) with improved water productivity more than the conventional system. However, these systems caused a yield penalty of 22-37 %; nevertheless, these yield losses were compensated with the application of mulches under water-saving rice production systems. Both plastic and straw mulches were helpful in improving moisture retention and water productivity (0.18-0.25 kg grain m À3 water) relative to non-mulch treatments (0.19-0.29 kg grain m À3 water). Mulch application was also helpful in reducing the number of non-productive tillers and sterile spikelets, and improving the productive tillers, kernel number and size, and kernel quality. Plastic mulch was more effective than straw mulch in improving water retention, water productivity and reducing spikelet sterility. In conclusion, the mulching improved the soil moisture retention, and thus enhanced the rice water productivity, spikelet fertility, paddy yield and quality of rice. This signifies the importance of mulching in water-saving rice production systems.

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“…Time and amount of water supply for crop was decided by the monitoring of soil moisture contents using gravimetric method. AWD plots were irrigated when soil moisture contents dropped to ~80% of field capacity, while AR plots were irrigated when soil moisture contents reached to ~50% of field capacity (Awan et al, 2014;Jabran et al, 2015). AWD and AR plots were separated with help of strong bunds and plastic sheet to avoid the water seepage.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mulching Improves Crop Growth, Grain Length, Head Rice and Milling Recovery of Basmati Rice Grown in Water-saving Production Systems

Jabran¹,

Ullah²,

Akbar³

2015

IJAB

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To cite this paper: Jabran, K., E. Ullah and N. Akbar, 2015. Mulching improves crop growth, grain length, head rice and milling recovery of basmati rice grown in water-saving production systems. AbstractWater saving rice cultivation is indispensable in the wake of severe water shortage. Application of mulches can increase the water retention in water-saving rice; however, the effect of mulches on the growth and quality of rice are desired to be investigated. Hence, two years studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of plastic and straw mulch on crop growth, grain quality and recovery of fine rice. Water saving rice was grown under aerobic (AR) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) conditions with application of plastic and straw mulch (5 t ha -1). Plots without mulch were maintained in both the water saving systems for comparison. Mulches significantly improved the growth of rice crop in terms of leaf area index, crop growth rate, leaf area duration and dry matter accumulation of rice compared with the no mulch. Similarly, the rice grain quality was also significantly improved by the mulch application. Mulch application increased the brown and white rice length, brown and white rice recovery percentage. The plastic mulch was more effective than straw mulch in improving the growth and grain quality of rice under AWD and AR. AWD was more effective in improving the rice grain quality compared with the AR. In crux, either of the plastic or straw mulch can be applied in fine grain basmati rice fields in order to improve the crop growth and grain quality. The effectiveness of plastic mulch surpasses the efficiency of straw mulch.

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Nitrogen Use and Crop Performance of Rice under Aerobic Conditions in a Semiarid Subtropical Environment

Cited by 13 publications

References 38 publications

Biochar increases plant-available water in a sandy loam soil under an aerobic rice crop system

Biochar increases plant-available water in a sandy loam soil under an aerobic rice crop system

Mulching Improves Water Productivity, Yield and Quality of Fine Rice under Water‐saving Rice Production Systems

Mulching Improves Crop Growth, Grain Length, Head Rice and Milling Recovery of Basmati Rice Grown in Water-saving Production Systems

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