Growth and Yield Response of BINA Released Aman Rice Varieties under Varied Seedling Age in the Southwestern Coastal Bangladesh

Abstract

Appropriate transplanting age of seedling is a critical consideration for the growth and productivity of rice. In the coastal region of southwestern lowland conditions need to determine the suitable seedling age of short duration Transplanted (T.) aman rice. Hence, a field experiment was carried out from July to November 2023 at the Sub-station of Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Binerpota, Satkhira, to evaluate the growth and yield of Aman rice varieties influenced by seedling age. The experiment was arranged with a factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The factorial experiment consisted of eight rice varieties (Binadhan-11, Binadhan-16, Binadhan-17, Binadhan-20, Binadhan-22, Binadhan-23, Binadhan-7, and Binashail) and five seedlings ages (15, 25, 35, 45, and 55 days old) as experimental treatments. Results revealed significant variations in growth, yield, and yield-attributing traits due to seedling age, rice variety, and their interaction. Transplanting of 25 days-old-seedlings showed the highest yield performance (5.64 t ha⁻¹) with an increment of 11% from younger seedlings (15-days-old) and 12-68% from older seedlings (35-55 days-old) grain yield of yet 35-day-old seedlings demonstrated superior growth components such as plant height, flag leaf length, and effective tiller production. Among the varieties, Binadhan-23 had the highest grain yield (5.29 t ha⁻¹) which was 6-52% higher compared to other varieties yet similar yield was obtained from Binadhan-20 and Binadhan-22. In the interaction of variety and seedling age, the highest grain yield (6.55 t ha-1) was attained in Binadhan-23 with 25 days-old-seedlings. From the findings of this research, it can be suggested that among the varieties and seedling ages, Binadhan-23 with 25 days-old-seedlings are suitable for the coastal region of southwestern Bangladesh.