Abstract:
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food for a
substantial portion of the global population and it
is cultivation all over the world. Seed rate has a
significant impact on plant population, crop
quality and overall yield in paddy cultivation.
Hence, this study was conducted to identify the
best seed sowing rates for optimized growth and
yield potentials of the At362 rice variety in
Ampara District, Sri Lanka. Six different seed
rates viz; 2 Bu/ac, 2.5 Bu/ac (Control), 3 Bu/ac,
3.5 Bu/ac, 4 Bu/ac and 4.5 Bu/ac were selected for
this experiment. The treatments were arranged in
Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with
three replications. Data on growth and yield
related parameters were collected at different
time periods and analyzed using SPSS software.
The results revealed that most of the tested
parameters were significantly (p<0.05) affected
by different seed rates. Lower seeds rate (2 Bu/ac,
2.5 Bu/ac and 3 Bu/ac) resulted in increased mean
values for growth parameters including plant
height, number of leaves produced in the main
culm, flag leaf length and width, culm length and
root length compared to higher seed rates.
Similarly, panicle length and number of filled per
panicle were higher at 2.0 and 2.5 Bu/ac
respectively. However, the number of panicles/m2
was significantly higher in 4 Bu/ac and 4.5 Bu/ac
while the filled panicle and the grain weight were
increased in the lower seed rates suggesting that
the increasing seed rates marginally increased the
panicle production in cv. At362 rice variety.
