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ABSTRACT
Severe water shortage in many parts of the world has caused enormous yield
losses in rice. To continue feeding the increasing number of people who are dependent
on rice as staple food, there is a need to address the problem on water shortage.
One possible solution may be the application of alternate wet and dry (AWD) water
management in rice production.
This experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield performance,
as well as the profitability of selected lowland rice varieties under AWD water
management. An experimental area of 450m2 with Umingan clay loam soil was
laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Each
replication was subdivided into six treatment plots with an area of 20m2 (5m x 4m)
each. The treatments were: T1 - Masipag 45 (M45), T2 - Matatag 6 (M6), T3 - Masipag
129-2 (M129-2), T4 - Pinili-1, T5 -SL-8H and T6 - PSBRc-18 (check variety). Results
showed that number of days from planting to heading and maturity, fresh straw yield
(t ha-1), number of productive tillers per hill, number of filled grains per panicle and
grain yield (t ha-1) differed significantly among treatments (p<0.05). Pinili-1 headed
and matured the earliest and produced the highest fresh straw yield (t ha-1). However,
M-129-2 and Matatag 6 had the highest number of productive tillers per hill, number
of filled grains per panicle and total grain yield (t ha-1) which surpassed that of PSB-
Rc18 (check variety). Masipag129-2 and Matatag 6 also gave the highest net profit of
Php 23,805.00 per hectare.
Introduction
In the Philippines and in many other parts of the world, rice (Oryza
sativa L.) is one of the most important crops cultivated by farmers. In
most parts of Asia, according to Facon (2000), rice is not only a staple
food; it also serves as the major source of livelihood and income of the
rural people.
Although rice is grown in different ecosystems, 78% of the world’s
rice is grown under irrigated or rainfed lowland conditions (IRRI, 1997).
As pointed out by Virk et al. (2004), irrigated transplanted rice on
puddled soil is still the traditional system practiced over several centuries
in Asia. This traditional rice production system, according to Lampayan
et al. (2004), requires much water. In fact, it consumes more than 50%
of all irrigation water used in the region. However, they pointed out that
water resources are now increasingly becoming scarce and expensive.
Facon (2000) noted that reduced investments in irrigation infrastructure
as well as increased competition for water and large withdrawals from
underground water could lower the sustainability of rice production.
Thus, to be able to continue producing rice that can feed the increasing
world population, there is a need to develop alternative rice production
systems that require less water and increase water productivity.
In the 1990s, researchers from the International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) and some national researchers successfully tested several
water-saving technologies such as saturated soil culture, saturated soil
and soil drying, and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in farmers’
fields (Virk et al., 2004). Facon (2000) reported that intermittent
flooding, maintaining the soil in sub-saturated condition, and alternate
drying and wetting can reduce water applied to the field by more than
40 percent compared with continuous submergence methods without
affecting the grain yields. He said that increases in grain yields by up to
20 percent were actually reported. Vial (2007) also reported that aerobic
and AWD systems have significantly increased water use efficiency of
rice in more permeable soils such as in northern China.
Belder et al. (2004), however, reported that when tested in tropical
areas like India and the Philippines, AWD was found to cause reduction in
rice yield. One factor that may have contributed to yield loss under AWD
132 Ratilla and Cagasan
Data Gathered
Initial soil analysis showed that the experimental area had a soil
pH of 4.95, 4.62% organic matter, 20 mg/kg available P, 126 mg/kg
exchangeable K, and 72% water holding capacity (Table 1). Results of
the particle size distribution analysis showed that the soil contained 39%
sand, 30% silt, and 31% clay. These indicate that although the soil in the
experimental field had high organic matter content, high amounts of
available P and high exchangeable K, and high water holding capacity,
it was very acidic, This high level of soil acidity resulted to poor growth
performance of the rice plants as manifested by the yellowing of leaves
during the early stages of growth. The application of inorganic fertilizer
to the experimental field improved the condition of the soil which
favored the development of more number of tillers per hill and more
number of filled grains per panicle, which eventually resulted to high
grain yields of some test varieties.
In the final soil analysis, results revealed that the pH of the soil in the
experimental area slightly increased, while the organic matter content,
available P, and exchangeable K slightly decreased. This means that soil
acidity level slightly decreased. The slight increase in soil pH could be
136 Ratilla and Cagasan
attributed to the high amount of organic matter and reducible iron in the
soil and the suspension effect of flooded soils. On the other hand, the
slight decrease in organic matter content could be due to the organic
matter decomposition and the decrease in available P and exchangeable
K brought about by the absorption of P and K ions by the plants.
Table 1. Initial and final soil analyses of the experimental area planted to lowland rice
varieties under AWD water management.
Available Exchangeable
Soil pH OM Phosphorus Potassium
( %) (mg/kg) (mg/kg)
Agronomic Characteristics
Plant height and LAI of the rice varieties grown under AWD
water management did not differ significantly (Table 2). However,
significant differences (p<0.05) were observed on the number of days
from transplanting to heading and maturity, and on fresh straw yield (t
ha-1). All varieties headed and matured earlier than the check variety
(73 DAT), but Pinili-1 headed the earliest at 52 days after transplanting
(DAT) and matured the earliest at 85 DAT. Two varieties, M129-2 and
PSB Rc18 (check variety), matured beyond 100 DAT with PSB-Rc18
having headed (73 DAT) and matured (103 DAT) the latest. This marked
variation in maturity period could be attributed to the test varieties’ genetic
differences and their different responses to the AWD water management.
Normally, PSB-Rc18 matures in 120 days (4 months). However, in this
study, the variety matured earlier (103 DAT). This result supports the
Growth and Yield Performance of Selected Lowland Rice Varieties 137
findings of Virk et al. (2000) which showed that genetic variability for
tolerance to relatively mild water stress conditions exists in both inbred
and hybrid rice varieties. This also conforms with the findings of Tripoli
(2006) which showed that AWD water management resulted in early
maturity of lowland rice. This further supports the findings of Caintic
(2004) that Masipag rice varieties significantly headed and matured
earlier than the other test varieties, while SL-8H and PSBRc 18 headed
and matured later.
Fresh straw yield also differed significantly (p<0.05) among
varieties (Table 2). PSB-Rc18 produced the heaviest straw yield (22.84
t ha-1), followed by M-129-2 (20.56 t ha-1) and Pinili-1 (20.67 t ha-1). The
significantly higher fresh straw yields of these varieties could probably
be due to the higher number of tillers with broader leaves that they
were able to produce during the vegetative stage compared to the other
varieties (Table 2). This result conforms with findings of Akita (1987)
which showed that Rc18 and Masipag rice varieties have high tillering
capacity, and are more responsive to nitrogen application thereby giving
higher fresh straw yield than the other varieties.
Table 2. Agronomic characteristics of lowland rice varieties under AWD water
management
Days from transplanting Plant Leaf Fresh
Treatments to Height Area Straw
Heading Maturity (cm) Index Yield
(t ha-1)
Table 3. Yield and yield components of lowland rice varieties under AWD water
management
number of Weight Grain Harvest
Produc- Filled Unfilled of Yield Index
Treatments tive grains/ grains/ 1,000 (t ha-1)
tillers/hill panicle panicle grains (g)
Table 4. Production cost and returns analysis of lowland rice varieties per hectare
under AWD water management.
Treatment Actual Grain Mean Grain Gross Gross net Income
Yield (t ha-1) Yield (t ha-1) Income Expenses (Php)
(Php)1 (Php)
1
1 Computed based on the mean grain yield
Conclusion
Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that among
the rice varieties tested, M-129-2 and Matatag 6 had the highest number
of productive tillers per hill and number of filled grains per panicle
thus, the highest grain yield (t ha-1) which were comparable to the
check variety (PSB Rc 18). This resulted in the highest net return of
Php 23,805.00. Thus, it can be concluded further that among the rice
varieties tested, M-129-2 and Matatag 6 are the ones that are best suited
for AWD system of rice production.
References
IRRI. 1997. Rice Almanac (2nd ed). Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines:
International Rice Research Institute. 181 pp.
Vial, L. 2007. Growing rice with less water. IREC Farmers’ Newsletter,
No. 176, Spring 2007. pp. 1-45.
142 Ratilla and Cagasan