Experiment plan of Upland Rice cultivation

Introduction

Mali's economy is based on agriculture, which contributes 40% to GDP and provides about 30% of export earnings. For rice, it helps in itself to about 5% of the country's GDP. Planned production in 2018 is 3,969,564 tons of rice according to the CARD (Coalition African of Rice Development)against an annual domestic production currently hovering around 1,668,564 tons (SNDR, 2009).

To achieve these objectives, sustainable intensification actions should be conducted in all rice production systems, including upland rice, the most practiced system in the region of Koulikoro, to know:

• Reasoned expansion of cultivated areas;
• The use of more productive varieties such as NERICA;
• Improved farming practices at the farm level;
• Optimal use of organic and mineral fertilization.

According to the 2014-2015 annual report of the DRA, Nerica Rice accounts for 27% of the Region's rice acreage. However, average yields are generally low between 0.9 and 1.5 tons / ha for a potential yields of 4 tons / ha. This low NERICA rice productivity is mainly because of the misuse of fertilizer recommended doses, but also to poor farming practices (non-compliance with the technical package). Many farmers continue to sow the Nerica rice by broadcasting; making very tedious weeding operations and impossible mechanical weeding.

Upland rice is much more sensitive to the distribution of rainfall than the total amount of rainfall during the season. The sunshine and temperature are important for proper growth and good yield of upland rice. The land preparation and seeding method are therefore very important to ensure a good production of upland rice.

Thus in the present study, "Effect of nitrogen application of different planting method on growth and yield of Nerica 4 in upland conditions of Tsukuba", drilling, and dibbling will be compared under different levels of Nitrogen to help producers choose the best method for seeding.

Goals

The main objective of this study is contributing to increase rice production in Mali, through:

• The use of nitrogen mineral fertilizers;
• The best method of planting NERICA 4.

Materials and methods

The experiment will be take place in experiment field of Tsukuba International Center JICA.

Treatments:

It is a complex factorial trial with two factors studied:

• The Planting Method has three levels of variation: S1: drilling (60cm between rows) and S2: dibbling (25cm x 25cm);
• The Dose of Nitrogen fertilizer with Three level variation: N60 (60kg of N); N30 (30kg of N) and N0 (0kg of N);

Treatments will consist of a factorial combination between the levels of the factors studied, and three (3) repetition. Thus, we have eighteen (18) treatments.

Table 1: Amount of fertilizer application

Nutrient	Amount of Nitrogen application (kg/ha)
	Basal (Kg/ha)	Top dressing (Kg/ha)	Total (Kg/ha)
N0	0	0	0
N30	20	10	30
N60	40	20	60
P2O5	60	0	60
K2O	60	0	60

Table 2: Amount of fertilizer application per treatment

Nutrient	Amount of Nitrogen application (273.6 kg/273.6m2)
	Basal (Kg/273.6m2)	Top dressing (Kg/273.6m2)	Total (Kg/273.6m2)
N0	0	0	0
N30	0.03	0.02	0.05
N60	0.06	0.03	0.09
P2O5	0.09	0.0	0.09
K2O	0.09	0.0	0.09

 

Layout of the plot

The adopted experimental design was Randomized Complete Block Design the 3 repetitions with the following dimensions:

- The block has a length of 7 m and a width of 11,8 m, an area of 82,6 m²;

- Elementary plots 3,6 m long and 3 m wide is 10,8 m²

- The total area of the test plot is 247,8 m²

0,5m

3m

1m

S1N0

S2N0

S1N60

S2N60

S1N60

S2N60

S2N530

S1N30

S2N30

S1N30

S2N0

S1N0

S1N60

S2N60

S2N0

S1N0

S1N30

S2N30

21m

 

Variety

Nerica 4 is the selected variety for
this experiment; because it
is
the most
grown upland rice in
Koulikoro and also in Sudan. The seed rate is 40kg/ha for each planting method (drilling and dibbling)

Table 2: The characteristic of NERICA 4

Name	Height	Maturity duration	yields	1,000grains wt (g)
WAB 450-IB-P91-HB or Dususuma malo	Short	Short	4t / ha	23,5

Weed control

Go-Go-San herbicide will be apply 5 DAS at the rate of 8, 3 liters per ha to control weed. While manual weeding will also be used of Japanese hoe in inter row spacing and hand puling of weeds from the rows.

Investigation items and timing

Investigation items	Times for Investigation
Plant length (cm) Tiller number SPAD Dry weight (g) Leaf Area Index Leaf number Yield and yield components No of Spikelets/panicle; No of Panicles/m2; % of ripened grains (%); 1000 grains weight (g)	Germination rate 15 DAS; Tiller number 30, 45, 60 DAS ; Maximum tillering stage 70 DAS Panicle formation stage 90 DAS Heading stage 80 to 90 DAS Maturity stage 95 DAS

 

Hypothesis

Mineral fertilizer 60kg of Nitrogen N60 has positive impact on growth, development and yield of Nerica 4. And drilling (60 cm between rows) S1 provides the best performance Nerica 4.

References

1. Rapport Bilan Annuel 2014 -2015, Direction Regional de l'Agriculture (DRA) de Koulikoro, P,91, 2015;
2. Adaptability of Nerica 1 and Nerica 4 under low Nitrogen Levels in Tsukuba, SANON Abdramane, p 12, 2014;
3. Stratégie National de Dveloppement de la Riziculture (SNDR), Gouvernement du Mali, 2009, P-29;
4.