Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Effect of Inorganic Fertilizers and Farm Yard Manure on Agronomic Characteristics of Upland Rice Straw in Taita Taveta Highlands, Kenya

Simon Wekesa, Anne Kelly Kambura, Marianne Maghenda, James Gacheru, John Kimani, Mwamburi Mcharo

International Journal of Plant & Soil Science · pp. 28–40 · Published 26 Apr 2021

10.9734/ijpss/2021/v33i630441

Abstract

The study evaluated upland rice varietal agronomic characteristics and differences due to effects of fertilizer treatment and season at Taita Taveta University, Ngerenyi campus. The experiment was conducted during the short rains of 2018 and long rains of 2019. The experiment was a Randomized Complete Block Design with 3 replications. Individual plots measured 2.5 m by 2 m. Varieties evaluated were 17KH09010093B, WDR73 Hybrid, NERICA 1, NERICA 10 and Komboka. The treatments included were farm yard manure (8 tons ha-1), DAP at 75 kg ha-1, NPK (17:17:17) at 65 kg ha-1, and no fertilizer. Plant height, panicle length, leaf length, number of tillers, fresh weight, and dry weight were assessed. Variety, fertilizer and season had significant effects (P=0.05) on the morphological variables. NERICA 10 was the tallest variety at a mean of 72 cm in 2018 and a mean height of 61 cm in 2019. DAP treated plants were the tallest in both 2018 and 2019. Varieties were significantly different (P=0.0004) for panicle length. NERICA 10 had the longest panicles. Varietal effect was significant (P<0.001) for leaf length. NERICA 1 had the longest leaves in both seasons. DAP had the greatest effect on leaf length. Varieties differed significantly (P<0.001) in number of tillers per plant. Variety 17KH09010093B had the highest number of tillers per plant of 34.78 obtained in 2018. DAP resulted in the highest number of tillers. Variety and fertilizers interacted significantly (P=0.007) for foliage weight. WDR73 Hybrid out-yielded other varieties (149.31g) in fresh foliage weight. DAP resulted in the highest fresh morphological yield followed by NPK. There were significant differences in dry foliage weight among varieties and between seasons (P<0.001). Variety 17KH09010093B had the highest dry weight. Further studies on the socio–economics of fertilizer use should be conducted to provide reliable recommendations for upland rice production as forage.

Rainfed rice fertilizer forage fresh weight dry weight

References (11)

  1. 1 Drought-responsive mechanisms in rice genotypes with contrasting drought tolerance during reproductive stage [DOI]
  2. 2 Genetic Variability, Heritability, Correlation Coefficient and Path Analysis for Yield and Yield Related Traits in Upland Rice (Oryza sativa L.) [DOI]
  3. 3 A phenotypic marker for quantifying heat stress impact during microsporogenesis in rice (Oryza sativa L.) [DOI]
  4. 4 Development of Rice Varieties for Whole Crop Silage (WCS) in Japan [DOI]
  5. 5 Drought-induced root plasticity of two upland NERICA varieties under conditions with contrasting soil depth characteristics [DOI]
  6. 6 The effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer applications on N, P-uptake, K-uptake and yield of sweet corn (Zea mays saccharata Sturt) [DOI]
  7. 7 Decline in Fertility of Paddy Soils Induced by Paddy Rice and Upland Soybean Rotation, and Measures against the Decline [DOI]
  8. 8 The Effect of Different Fertilizers Management Strategies on Growth and Yield of Upland Black Glutinous Rice and Soil Property [DOI]
  9. 9 EFFECTS OF WATER DEFICIT ON DAYS TO MATURITY AND YIELD OF THREE NERICA RAINFED RICE VARIETIES
  10. 10 Effect of Climate Change and CO2 Concentration on Growth and Yield of Rice and Wheat in Punjab: Simulations Using CSM-CERES-Rice and CSM-CERES-Wheat Models [DOI]
  11. 11 From Challenges to Sustainable Solutions for Upland Agriculture in Southeast Asia [DOI]

Cited by 2

Rice– (potato + maize) and soybean–potato–sunflower as potential options for diversification of rice–wheat cropping systems in Eastern IGPs in India

Sameer Shrivastava, R. K. Jha, B. Pramanik · Frontiers in Agronomy · 2026

Showing 1 of 2 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

63

Page views

0

PDF downloads

15

Outbound clicks

2

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.