EMPOWER - Rice
20240528
Abstract
- The efficacy of Empower Biofertilizer on transplanted rice production was evaluated in Munoz, Nueva Ecija from December 2023 to April 2024.
- Empower was applied on seedbed, three days before seedlings were pulled followed by foliar applications at 10, 30 and 60 days after transplanting using a dose rate of 40 mL/16 L water.
- The application of Empower on top of the normal inorganic fertilizer applications resulted to significantly higher yield per hectare than the untreated. The treatment of Empower + Full Rate of Inorganic Fertilizer (RRIF) gave the highest yield of 5.69 MT/ha which is significantly higher than the untreated (3.75 MT/ha), RRIF (4.59 MT/ha) and significantly different from the rest of the treatments. The Empower + ½ RRIF also provided significantly higher yield (5.36 MT/ha) than the RRIF.
- Height of plants applied with full rate Empower in combination with either full or half of inorganic fertilizer (RRIF) gave comparable height at maximum tillering, panicle initiation and at harvest.
- At reproduction stage, plants fertilized with recommended rate of inorganic, RRIF in combination with Empower (T6) and RRIF (T2) significantly resulted to longer length of panicle, higher number of productive and unproductive tillers, higher number of filled and unfilled grains per panicle.
- Empower was found effective in rice production at dose rate of 40 mL/16/L water applied three (3) times in the field at 10, 30 and 60 DAF on top of the application at seedling stage at 3 day before seedlings are pulled.
Study details
- Researcher : Dr. Aurea C. Roxas
- Duration of the study: December 2023 to April 2024
- Crop and Variety: Rice variety (PsbRc 160) commonly grown inbred variety in the area
- Trial site: Palusapis, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Rcija
Materials and Methods
Treatments
- T1 – Control (no fertilizer application)
- T2 – Recommended Rate of Inorganic Fertilizer (RRIF) at 75-60-60 kg NPK/ha based on soil analysis results
- T3 – ½ RRIF
- T4 – Full Recommended Rate of Empower Biofertilizer (RREB, 40 mL/16L of water)
- T5 – ½ RRIF + RREB
- T6 – RRIF + RREB
In addition, seedlings intended for Treatments 4-6 were sprayed with Empower Biofertilizer at dose rate of 40 mL per 16 L water 3 days before seedlings were pulled.
Empower Biofertilizer Application details
Empower Biofertilizer was applied as foliar spray using a 16-liter capacity knapsack sprayer fitted with a hollow cone nozzle at 160 L spray volume per hectare (10 tankloads/ha). Empower was applied at following stages:
- Seedling Stage – 3 days before seedlings are pulled
- Vegetative Stage – 10 days after transplanting
- Maximum Tillering – 30 DAT
- Reproductive Stage – 60 DAT
Inorganic Fertilizer Application
Inorganic fertilizers in the form of complete (14-14-14) 6 bags and 3 bags urea per hectare were used as the reference fertilizers (75-60-60 kg NPK / hectare). These were applied in three applications:
- Basal
- Active Tillering – inorganic fertilizer application was done seven days before Empower Biofertilizer application.
- Panicle initiation - inorganic fertilizer application was done at seven days before Empower Biofertilizer application.
Results and Discussion
Effect of Empower on root length, root mass and seedling height
| Variable | With Empower | Without Empower | Difference | Sig. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Root Length | 19.7 | 16.8 | 2.90 | 0.00 |
| Root Mass | 0.025 | 0.023 | 0.002 | 0.00 |
| Plant Height | 32.7 | 31.8 | 0.9 | 0.00 |
Seedling recovery
Based on our visual observation, seven (7) days after transplanting, plants treated with EMPOWER had already recovered as compared to the untreated plants. It seems that there was no transplanting shock occurred in plant applied with Empower.
Effect of the different treatments on plant height
Plant Height (cm)
| Treatments | Maximum Tillering | Panicle Initiation | At harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 -Control | 45.41 b | 62.87 c | 75.89 b |
| T2 -RRIF | 59.21 a | 74.51 a | 84.10 a |
| T3- 1/2 RRIF | 56.84 a | 69.68 ab | 81.69 ab |
| T4- RR Empower | 46.74 b | 65.50 bc | 77.23 b |
| T5- Empower + ½ RRIF | 58.01 a | 71.64 ab | 81.99 ab |
| T6- Empower +RRIF | 60.49 a | 75.99 a | 85.83 a |
Effect of the different treatments on rice reproduction stage.
| Treatments | Panicle Length (cm) | Number of Productive Tillers | No. of Unproductive Tillers | No. of Filled Grains/Panicle | No of Unfilled Grains/panicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 -Control | 18.98 e | 9.88 e | 8.36 c | 54.41 d | 8.36 c |
| T2 -RRIF | 22.91 ab | 13.63 ab | 18.29 a | 88.563 a | 18.29 a |
| T3- 1/2 RRIF | 21.34 c | 12.49 c | 11.78 bc | 72.36 b | 11.78 bc |
| T4- RR Empower | 19.87 d | 10.76 d | 11.31 bc | 63.03 c | 11.31 bc |
| T5- Empower + ½ RRIF | 21.77 bc | 13.13 b | 13.16 b | 76.61 b | 13.16 b |
| T6- Empower +RRIF | 23.12 a | 14.16 a | 19.78 a | 88.963 a | 19.78 a |
Effects of the different treatments on yield
| Treatments | Grain weight (g/100 seeds) | Yield per Plot (Kg) | Yield per hectare (MT/ha) |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 -Untreated | 25.95 a | 1.5 f | 3.75 f |
| T2 -RRIF | 26.90 a | 1.84 c | 4.59 c |
| T3- 1/2 RRIF | 26.83 a | 1.73 d | 4.31 d |
| T4- RR Empower | 26.73 a | 1.6 e | 4e |
| T5- Empower + ½ RRIF | 26.88 a | 2.15 b | 5.38 b |
| T6- Empower +RRIF | 27.68 a | 2.28 a | 5.69 a |
Summary Conclusion and Recommendation
- Application of Empower in combination with full or half of the recommended rate of inorganic fertilizer resulted to generally better seedling growth and development better plant height at different growth stages, longer panicle length, higher number of productive tillers and higher number filled grains per panicle.
- The application of Empower on top of inorganic fertilizer resulted to significantly higher yield per hectare than the untreated. The treatment of Empower + Full Rate of Inorganic Fertilizer (RRIF) gave the highest yield of 5.69 MT/ha which is significantly higher than the untreated (3.75 MT/ha) and significantly different from the rest of the treatments.
- The application of Empower on top of the full rate of inorganic fertilizer resulted to yield difference of 1.1 MT/ha compared to inorganic fertilizer alone.
- Empower biofertilizer is recommended at the rate of 40ml/16Lwater to be applied at 3 days before pulling of seedlings at 10, 30 60 days after transplanting (DAT).