Effect of Foliar Boron Application on Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Growth and Final Crop Harvest
Sajed Ali
University of Management and Technology, Sialkot Campus, Sialkot, Pakistan.
Syed Ali Raza
Directorate of Land Reclamation, Irrigation Department, Lahore, Pakistan.
Shahid Javed Butt
University of Management and Technology, Sialkot Campus, Sialkot, Pakistan.
Zahid Sarwar
Directorate of Land Reclamation, Irrigation Department, Lahore, Pakistan.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.512/2016.3.2/512.2.49.52
Keywords: Micronutrients, Boron, Rice, Yield.
Abstract
Boron (B) is an essential micro nutrient and its deficiency caused a reduction in final crop harvest and quality of the yield. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of foliar application of B on yield and yield components of rice in calcareous soils under agro-climatic conditions of Lahore, Pakistan. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with six B foliar application rates (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mg L-1). The experiment was replicated three times. The results illustrated a significant effect of B foliar application on number of grains panicle-1, number of filled grains and final grain yield. The highest grain yield (352 g m-2) was recorded in 20 mg L-1 foliar application, whereas an increase in B application to 25 mg L-1 reduces the final grain yield significantly (313 g m-2). Detrimental effects of the highest B application on yield components were also observed. The decline in the quantity and quality rice yield resulted by increasing B application might be due to the toxic effect of higher concentration of B application.