Need based nitrogen management using leaf colour chart for short duration transplanted rice: Effect on nitrogen use efficiency

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted during Kharif, 2018 with an objective to study the possibility of improving N-use efficiency by affecting fertilizer N as per need of crop using leaf colour chart (LCC) transplanted rice. Treatments included two doses of nitrogen (120 and 150 kg ha-1) applied on basis of LCC- 3 and 4. In turn Nitrogen was applied in 3 equal splits @ 120 kg N ha-1 and (3 and 4) splits with half as basal, remaining @ 150 Kg ha-1. These treatments were evaluated against control, recommended method and Farmers practice. Results revealed that, LCC-4 was found to be best in improving efficiency of applied nitrogen fertilizer. Among all the treatments, with regard to nitrogen use efficiency indices, highest efficiency was observed in T7 {120 kg RDN at LCC 4} followed by recommended practice. LCC based nitrogen application was found to be effective in improving rice yields with limited nitrogen supply on plant need basis.