Improving rice productivity and quality through optimum plant population and nitrogen management

Rice yields can be improved with the optimum plant population and nitrogen levels. A field experiment was conducted at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Panipat (Haryana), during kharif 2023 to explore the effect of the plant population dynamics and nitrogen management on Basmati rice. In this study, three different plant populations, viz. P1, P2, and P3 (33, 25, and 20 plants m-2), and five nitrogen levels, viz. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N5 (100% RDN; 100 RDN + two sprays of nano nitrogen at 40-50 and 60-70 DAT; LCC-based nitrogen scheduling; 125% RDN; and 150% RDN), kept as the main plot and a sub plot, respectively, were replicated thrice in a split-plot design. The results revealed that P2N5 had the highest yield (5292 kg ha-1), which was higher than that (3.14~11.05) under the other treatments. This can be attributed to a higher number of grains in panicle-1. However, the combination of P2N5 leads to better gross returns and a better benefit:cost ratio. This study suggests that P2N5 treatments could enhance rice yields up to a significant level.