Productivity and Nutrient Balance of an Intensive Rice–Rice Cropping System Are Influenced by Different Nutrient Management in the Red and Lateritic Belt of West Bengal, India

Abstract

Rice is the lifeline for more than half of the world population, and in India, in view of its huge demand in the country, farmers adopt a rice–rice cropping system where the irrigation facility is available. As rice is a nutrient-exhausting crop, sustainable productivity of rice–rice cropping system greatly depends on appropriate nutrient management in accordance with the inherent soil fertility. The application of an ample dose of fertilizer is the key factor for maintaining sustainable rice yields and nutrient balance of the soil. Considering the above facts, an experiment was conducted on nutrient management in a rice–rice cropping system at the university farm of Visva-Bharati, situated in a sub-tropical climate under the red and lateritic belt of the western part of West Bengal, India, during two consecutive years (2014–2016). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Completely Block Design with 12 treatments and three replications, with different rates of N:P:K:Zn:S application in both of the growing seasons, namely, kharif and Boro. The recommended (ample) dose of nutrients was 80:40:40:25:20 and 120:60:60:25:20 kg ha−1 of N:P2O5:K2O:Zn:S in the Kharif and Boro season, respectively. A high yielding variety, named MTU 7029, and a hybrid, Arize 6444 GOLD, were taken in the Kharif and Boro seasons, respectively. The results clearly indicated that the application of a recommended dose of nutrients showed its superiority over the control (no fertilizer application) in the expression of growth characters, yield attributes, yields, and nutrient uptake of Kharif as well as Boro rice. Out of the all treatments, the best result was found in the treatment where the ample dose of nutrients was applied, resulting in maximum grain yield in both the Kharif (5.6 t ha−1) and Boro (6.6 t ha−1) season. The corresponding yield attributes for the same treatment in the Kharif (panicles m−2: 247.9; grains panicle−1: 132.0; spikelets panicle−1: 149.6; test weight: 23.8 g; and panicle length: 30.6 cm) and Boro (panicles m−2: 281.6; grains panicle−1: 142.7; spikelets panicle−1: 157.2; test weight: 24.8 g; and panicle length: 32.8 cm) season explained the maximum yield in this treatment. Further, a reduction or omission of individual nutrients adversely impacted on the above traits and resulted in a negative balance of the respective nutrients. The study concluded that the application of a recommended dose of nutrients was essential for proper nutrient balance and sustainable yields in the rice–rice cropping system.

Yield, Grain Quality, and Starch Physicochemical Properties of 2 Elite Thai Rice Cultivars Grown under Varying Production Systems and Soil Characteristics

“…As a result, the rice plant exposed to nutrient imbalance typically shows characteristic symptoms, such as poor root formation, thinner stems, folded leaves, pale green and dark brown necrotic spots, and yellow, burnt-orange and dying leaves, which ultimately lead to the retardation of normal growth and the decreases of tillering, panicle number, and yield ability of the rice [32][33][34][35][36][37]. For instance, nitrogen and phosphorous deficiency in soil can cause the decreases of rice photosynthesis, growth, development, yield, and grain storage product compositions (e.g., amylose and protein contents) [30,[37][38][39]. Furthermore, soil potassium deficiency is a main cause of declines in translocation of photosynthetic products and other metabolites from leaves to pollen grains at the reproductive stage, resulting in spikelet sterility, unfilled grain percentage per panicle, reduced grain size and grain weight, and yield loss in rice [31,40].…”

Gejala Produktivitas Rendah dan Pertanian Degeneratif

“…Penurunan produksi padi sebagai dampak perubahan iklim dilaporkan oleh Tan et al (2021). Gejala penurunan produktivitas akibat penanaman padi intensif dalam jangka panjang dapat dilakukan dengan pengelolaan pemupukan secara tepat (Dobermann et al 2000) dan pemupukan seimbang (Shankar et al 2021).…”

Nutrient Utilization and Double Cropping Rice Yield Response to Dense Planting with a Decreased Nitrogen Rate in Two Different Ecological Regions of South China

“…The reason for this may be that the different soil fertilities affected the yield compensation ability of the rice, and the insufficient supply of soil nutrients led to a decline in rice population productivity [51]. On the other hand, the lower N application rate significantly decreased the photosynthetic rate and biomass [52]. Therefore, reasonable dense planting and N fertilizer management promoted the yield of double cropping rice in the two ecological regions, but the low soil fertility reduced the yield capacity of dense planting to compensate for the reduced N.…”