Study on the Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth, Yield Attributes and Yield of Basmati Rice

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the rainy (kharif) seasons of 2020 and 2021 at the Research Farm of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, to evaluate integrated nutrient management in transplanted basmati rice. Ten treatments comprising graded levels of the recommended dose of NPK fertiliser, pressmud, vermicompost, and NPK-solubilising microbial consortia were evaluated in a split-plot design with three replications. Plant height, tiller number, dry matter accumulation, yield attributes, grain and straw yields, biological yield, and harvest index were recorded. The application of 125% of the recommended NPK dose produced the highest plant height at harvest (116.2 cm), number of tillers at harvest (262 m⁻²), dry matter accumulation at harvest (1,101.4 g m⁻²), panicle length (26.5 cm), filled grains per panicle (84), grain yield (46.1 q ha⁻¹), straw yield (63.8 q ha⁻¹), biological yield (109.9 q ha⁻¹), and harvest index (41.9%). The control recorded the lowest grain yield (22.4 q ha⁻¹) and biological yield (69.8 q ha⁻¹). However, 75% NPK + pressmud at 1.5 t ha⁻¹ + NPK consortia and 100% NPK + NPK consortia produced statistically comparable values to 125% NPK for most growth and yield parameters. These findings indicate that combining mineral fertiliser with organic and microbial inputs can maintain competitive crop performance while reducing reliance on fertiliser application above the recommended dose.