Effect of Rice Straw and Husk Biochar on Vegetative Growth and Yield Attributes of Oryza sativa L

Effect of rice straw and husk biochar on vegetative growth and yield attributes of Oryza sativa L Singanayagam Thavanesan1*, Thayamini H. Seran2 1 Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Eastern University, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka 2 Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Eastern University, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka Abstract: A research was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield of rice as influenced by rich straw and husk biochar along with chemical fertilizer. The experiment was done with six treatments. T1- recommended chemical fertilizer, T2- Rice straw (1.0 t/ha), T3-Rice husk biochar (1.0 t/ha), T4-Rice straw (0.5 t/ha) + Rice husk biochar (0.5 t/ha), T5-Rice straw (1.0 t/ha) + Rice husk biochar (0.5 t/ha) and T6-Rice straw (1.0 t/ha) + Rice husk biochar (1.0 t/ha). Recommended chemical fertilizer was incorporated to all the treatments. During the vegetative periods, the growth parameters were recorded and finally yield analysis was done. Rice plants treated in rice straw (1.0 t/ha) and husk biochar (1.0 t/ha) along with chemical fertilizer had significantly (P<0.05) higher mean values of leaf area (185.93 cm2), number of tillers (4.0), number of roots per plant (105.33) and also dry weights of shoots (5.15 g) and roots (4.27 g) per plant when comparing chemical fertilizer alone. Average number of grains (187.67), number of filled grains (170.33) and filled grain weight per panicle (3.142 g) was also considerably increased in rice straw (1.0 t/ha) and husk biochar (1.0 t/ha) treatment followed by husk biochar (1.0 t/ha) treatment than those in the control. There were no significant difference (P>0.05) in 100 seed weight between them. Hence, it can be concluded that addition of rice straw (1.0 t/ha) and husk biochar (1.0 t/ha) along with chemical fertilizer to rice field is feasible to increase the grain yield under local conditions. Key words: Biochar, Rice straw, Rice husk, Rice, Seed weight [*] Corresponding author: thayaminis@esn.ac.lk, thayasean@yahoo.com