Standardizing foliar application of Nano nutrients to augment rice (Oryza sativa L.) productivity
1 Maddila Teja, 2 P. Sudhakar, 2 S. Manimaran and 3 R. Parthasarathi
1,2Department of Agronomy, 3Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar-608002 India Corresponding author Email: sudha.au.in@gmail.com and tejamaddila44@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
An investigation was carried out at Annamalai University Experimental Farm, located in the Garden Land Block of the Department of Agronomy, during the 2022–2023 growing season. The aim of the research was to evaluate the effects on the growth and yield characteristics of the Annamalai University 1 Green super Rice (AU 1 GSR) rice cultivar of foliar sprays of nano-N (1500 ml ha-1), nano-Si (175 g ha-1), and nano-Zn (125 g ha-1) and their combinations. The findings demonstrated that using nano fertilizers topically improves rice nutrient uptake efficiency and shields it from environmental stress. A field experiment was conducted as randomized block design with ten treatments and three replications. The treatments consisted of 100% RDN, 75% RDN, Foliar Spray of Nano N @ 1500 ml ha-1, Foliar spray of Nano Zn @ 125 g ha-1, Foliar spray of Nano Si @ 175 g ha-1 and control. The study showed that plant height, tiller count, and leaf area index were significantly impacted by combining a 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) and a foliar fertilizer spray containing nano-zinc and silicon. The results demonstrated that yield and other yield parameters like the number of productive tillers, filled grains in panicle-1, test weight, grain yield, straw yield, and harvest index were higher with this treatment. According to the study, applying a foliar spray that contained both nano-silicon (175 g ha-1) and nano-zinc (125 g ha-1) increased the growth, yield, and yield characteristics of rice grains.