PHOSPHORUS AND ZINC APPLICATION IMPROVES RICE PRODUCTIVITY

Abstract

Rice is an important cash crop and is one of the main export items of Pakistan. The yield of rice per hectare is very low in Pakistan as compared to other rice growing countries. This could be due to the fact that the soil of Pakistan is low in organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and also some micronutrients particularly zinc (Zn) in rice growing areas. For this purpose, a field trial was conducted to check the effects of P and Zn application on rice yield. Rice cultivar Super Basmati  was used as test crop which was sown under four levels of P viz. 0, 40, 80 and 120 kg ha-1 and four levels of Zn viz. 0, 8, 12 and 16 kg ha-1 Results of the study elucidated that P application @ 80 kg ha-1 and Zn application of 12 kg ha-1 was highly beneficial to improve the rice productivity. Moreover, P application at higher level significantly lowered the Zn uptake and thus caused Zn deficiency which
could be overcome by the higher level of Zn application. Therefore in order to get higher paddy yield, it should be fertilized @ 80 and 12 kg ha-1 of P and Zn, respectively