Vol. 13, Issue 3 (2024)

Author(s):
Vedika Nureti, Ashwani Kumar Thakur, Narendra Kumar, Tejpal Chandraker, Devendra Pratap Singh and Kajal Verma

Abstract:
An experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2022 to evaluate the effects of various inorganic and organic nutrient sources on the yield and economics of direct seeded rice in rainfed midland conditions at the Shaheed Gundadhur College of Agriculture and Research Station, Kumhrawand, Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh. The study area had Inceptisols soil with slight acidity, medium organic carbon content, low available nitrogen, and medium phosphorus and potassium levels. The climate of the Bastar Plateau is sub-humid, with a total rainfall of 1803.5 mm during the cropping season, and temperatures ranging from 18.70 °C to 33.53 °C. Twelve treatments were replicated thrice in a randomized block design. Results showed that treatment T₈ (100% NPK + 5t FYM + ZnSO4 @25 kg ha^-1 + lime 3 q ha^-1) consistently outperformed other treatments in growth parameters such as plant height, tiller number, dry matter accumulation. Additionally, T₈ induced late flowering and maturity. Treatment T₈ also produced significantly higher seed numbers per panicle and yielded higher grain, straw, and biological yields compared to other treatments, although harvest index was higher in treatment T₁₀ (50% NPK + 5t FYM ha^-1). Economically, treatment T₂ (100% NPK) had the highest net income and benefit-cost ratio. In conclusion, treatment T₈ demonstrated superior performance in terms of yield, economics, suggesting its potential for enhancing direct-seeded rice production in similar agro-climatic conditions.