Growth, Yield and Proximate Composition of Aromatic Rice as Influenced by Inorganic and Organic Fertilizer Management

Integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers can improve crop productivity and sustain soil health and fertility. To gain insights into the response of green manure and chemical fertilizer, the present study was conducted to evaluate the growth, yield and proximate composition of aromatic rice varieties in Aman season at the research farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh during the period from July to December 2014. The experiment was set up in split-plot design with three aromatic rice varieties in main plots and six fertilizer levels in subplots. ‘Raniselute’ variety produced the highest plant height, dry matter weight hill-1, straw yield (7.81 t ha-1), biological yield (9.05 t ha-1), ash (1.59%), and fat content (2.81%). ‘BRRI dhan34’ gave the maximum number of effective tillers hill-1 (12.74), panicle length (27.93 cm), number of filled grains panicle-1 (192.5), 1,000-grain weight (17.22 g), grain yield (2.26 t ha-1), harvest index (29.99%), and carbohydrate content (77.63%). Application of 80% recommended doses of NPKSZn + green manure 3.5 t ha-1 showed better performance for getting the maximum growth, yield components and yield compared to other treatments. Recommended doses of NPKSZn showed the highest carbohydrate content (77.63%) and lowest moisture (8.75%) and ash content (1.29%). The maximum fat content (3.07%) and minimum carbohydrate content (76.53%) was obtained from 60% recommended doses of NPKSZn + green manure 7 t ha-1. Application of 20 and 40% recommended doses of NPKSZn + green manure 14 and 10.5 t ha-1 produced the highest moisture content (10.43%) and lowest protein content (8.26%) in rice grain. Green manure 17.5 t ha-1 produced the highest ash (1.79%), protein content (9.06%) and lowest fat content (2.51%).