EFFECT OF SEEDLING AGE ON THE YIELD OF MODERN VARIETIES OF AROMATIC RICE

Abstract

An experiment was carried out at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during the period from July to I)ecember, 2006 to study the effect of seedling age on the yield of aromatic varieties. The experiment consisted of two levels of treatments viz. 4' variety (BRRI dhan37 and BRRI dhan38) and seedling age (IS, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 days old). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (Factorial) with three replications. The results revealed that BRRI dhan38 performed the best than BRRI dhan37. The highest grain yield (3.08 t/ ha), number of total tiller/ hill, effective tiller! hill. 1000-grain weight, harvest index and the longest panicle were attained from BRRI dhan38. Seedling age also significantly influenced all crop characters studied. The results also revealed that 30 days old seedlings showed the best performance than other seedling ages treatment. The highest grain yield (3.3 tiha), number of effective tillers/ hill, number of total spikelets/ panicle, grain! panicle, I 000-grain weight and the longest panicle were obtained from 30 days old seedlings whereas the highest plant height, number of total and non-effective tiller were found in 15 days old seedlings. Combination of BRRI dhan38 with 30 days old seedlings was found to be the best in respect of sterile spikelets! panicle. 1000-grain weight and grain yield.