Browsing by Author "ALABI OMOLAYO CATHERINE"

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    WATER PRODUCTIVITY, YIELD AND PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF RICE (Oryza sativa L.) IN AZOLLA-AMENDED SOIL UNDER ALTERNATE WETTING AND DRYING IRRIGATION SYSTEM
    (2025-06-26) ALABI OMOLAYO CATHERINE
    ABSTRACT The decline in water availability as a result of climate change and the negative impact of chemicalfertilizer have posed a significant challenge on the sustainability of rice production through continuousflooding practice. This study assessed the effect of Azolla (an organic biofertilizer) and its combinationwith NPK fertilizer on growth, yield, water-use efficiency, and nutritional composition of lowland rice(NERICA L-19) under Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation system compared withContinuous Flooding (CF). The experiment was set up in a 2 × 3 factorial design with four replicates.Irrigation included CF and AWD while soil amendments were 100 kgN/ha Azolla (AZ), 50 kgN/haAzolla + 50 kgN/ha NPK (AZ + NPK) and 100 kgN/ha NPK (NPK). Plant height and leaf area weremeasured weekly using metre rule and leaf area meter, respectively. Numbers of tillers were countedweekly while Chlorophyll content was determined at the early tillering, late tillering and grain fillingstages using SPAD 502 meter. Average data was computed from the weekly data of plant height, leafarea and number of tillers. Shoot and root biomass were also determined using standard procedure. Atmaturity, water-use efficiency was calculated while yield and yield components (spikelets per panicle,percentage sterility, 1000 grain weights, number of superior and inferior spikelets) were determinedusing standard procedure. Proximate composition (ash, crude fibre, crude protein, and carbohydrate)was also determined. Data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and meanswere separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test at 5% probability level. The results of this studyshowed that AWD increased Water Use Efficiency of NERICA L-19 by 59% compared with CFwithout yield compromise. However, significant variation exists in the use of soil amendments underCF and AWD. Except for plant height, the single application of Azolla decreased number of tiller(36% and 36%) and leaf area (53% and 54%) compared with NPK under CF and AWD, respectively.AZ reduced grain yield by 42% and 31% compared with NPK under AWD and CF, respectively;whereas, AZ+NPK produced comparable yield under AWD and increased yield (p < 0.05) by 27%under CF when compared with NPK. AZ + NPK had no significance influence on 1000 grain weight,spikelet/panicle, inferior spikelets and percentage sterility under AWD and CF compared with AZ andNPK. However, it increased superior spikelets by 11% and 5% under AWD, and by 31% and 14%under CF compared to AZ and NPK, respectively. On average, AWD increased ash, crude fibre, crudeprotein of NERICA L-19 by 17.6%, 20.3%, 21.5%, respectively and decreased its carbohydrate by7.5% compared with CF. AZ+NPK significantly increased crude protein by 36% and 33% comparedwith AZ and NPK, respectively under AWD. The study demonstrates that the use of Azolla incombination with NPK under alternate wetting and drying irrigation system can be used to saveirrigation water while promoting yield and nutrient composition of lowland rice.