Effect of nitrogen scheduling practices on growth characteristics, yield and N uptake of medium duration rice (Oryza sativa) varieties

Different nitrogen scheduling practices were evaluated in relation to growth, yield and uptake for four rice varieties under Haryana conditions. It was observed that higher dose of nitrogen applied with farmers' practice did not show any significant yield advantage over recommended and soil test based fertilizer application. The lesser growth and yield in leaf colour chart (LCC) based nitrogen scheduling practice suggests that basal dose may have a distinct advantage and must be applied for better tillering, growth and ultimately yield. However, nitrogen was most efficiently utilized under LCC based fertilizer application and seems to be better option towards enhancing nitrogen recovery as a next generation of technology. Among varieties, HKR 126, PR 106 and PR 114 were statistically at par among themselves but significantly outyielded IR 64. Nitrogen scheduling based on LCC vary for varieties differing in inherent leaf colour and needs further investigation after redefining the LCC values.