Influence of Silicon Fertilization on Nitrogen Fractions and Nutrient Status of Rice Grown Soils in Telangana State

Abstract

Excessive N application may limit the crop yields, and it could be minimized by the use of Silicon in rice ecosystem. Initially, a survey was conducted and revealed that rice grown soils were low in available Si (73.62 to 96.41 kg SiO2 ha-1). As well as Si concentration of rice genotypes ranged from 1.54 to 3.15% and grain yield ranged from 2653 to 6860 kg ha-1 and exerted a significant positive correlation (r = 0.55**). Based on initial phase of results, a field experiment was conducted with each four levels of N (0, 80, 120 & 160 kg ha-1) and Si (0, 200, 400 & 600 kg ha-1). Among the N and Si doses, application of T16(N160 + Si600) recorded highest grain yield (7180 kg ha-1) and was on par with the treatments received N@120 and 160 kg ha-1 along with Si@200, 400 and 600 kg ha-1. The status of available nutrients viz., N, P2O5, K2O, SiO2, Zn, Cu, and N-fractions were obtained high with T16 (N160 + Si600), which was at par with the treatments of T15 (N160 + Si400) > T14 (N160 + Si200) > T12 (N120 + Si600) > T11 (N120 + Si400) > T10 (N120 + Si200).