Response of two flooded rice cultivars to seeding and nitrogen rates

Abstract

Many studies about seeding and nitrogen rates in flooded rice were carried out, but few works have studied these two factors altogether. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of seeding and nitrogen rates on grain yield and its components, in two flooded rice cultivars. The experiment was carried out in field conditions during the 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 growing seasons. Treatments consisted of the combinations of two flooded rice cultivars (BR-IRGA 410 and IRGA 417), four seeding rates (50, 100, 150, and 200 kg ha^-1) and four nitrogen rates (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha^-1) in a randomized blocks design with four replications. Grain yield in response to nitrogen fertilizer was not influenced by seeding rate, except in the lowest density, in the second year. Grain yield did not vary within the range of seeding rate tested. Nitrogen use efficiency was higher in BR-IRGA 410 cultivar than in IRGA 417 and it decreased with increment in N fertilizer.