Influence of precision nutrient and weed management on growth and productivity of direct-seeded upland rice (Oryza sativa) under Eastern Plateau and Hills Region

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, during the rainy season (kharif) of 2019, to find out the effect of nutrient and weed management on growth and yield of direct-seeded, upland rice (Oryza sa- tiva L.). The field experiment was laid out in a split-plot design, comprising 3 nutrient-management practices in the main plots and 5 weed-management practices in the subplots, with 3 replications. The study revealed that, preci- sion nutrient management like Nutrient Expert guided NPK and weed management through Pendimethalin fol- lowed by (fb) hand-weeding recorded lesser weed density (7.24 and 7.34 respectively), least weed dry weight at harvesting (10.11 and 9.94 g/m2 respectively), maximum grain yield (3,630 and 4,090 kg/ha respectively) and higher leaf area index (LAI) at 60 days after sowing (60 DAS) as compared to weedy check. Also, there was a sig- nificantly positive correlation observed among the yield-attributing characters for obataining higher grain yield.