Influence of Controlled-release Fertilizer Levels on Rice Growth, Weed Control and Nitrogen Efficiency in Paper Mulching Transplanting

Recently we have interest on rice products developed by environment-friendly management. The technology of paper mulching was practised without herbicide in machine transplanting cultivation of paddy. A field experiment was conducted on Gangseo series (coarse loamy, mixed, nonacid, mesic family of Aquic Fluventic Eutrochrepts) at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), RDA, Suwon, Gyeonggi province, Republic of Korea in 2004. This experiment was carried out to evaluate rice growth, weed control and nitrogen efficiency by the different controlled-release fertilizer levels in paper mulching transplanting. Treatments consisted of conventional fertilization, controlled-release fertilizer (100%, 80%, 60%) compared with nitrogen amount () of conventional fertilization and no nitrogen plot. Mulching paper consisted of recycled paper which was coated with biodegradable plastics. There were no differences between conventional rice transplanting and paper mulching on missing hills. Weed occurrence and control were diverse and low as fertilizer amount increased. Plant height and tiller number per hill increased as fertilizer amount decreased. There were no difference between controlled-release fertilizer 80% and conventional fertilization plot on rice growth traits. Leaf color and in soil had similar trends. There was no difference in yield between controlled-release fertilizer 80% and conventional fertilization plot. Agronomic nitrogen-use efficiency was high as fertilizer amount decreased. Therefore, these results suggested controlled-release fertilizer 80% should be optimum amount under paper mulching transplanting of rice considering weed control, rice growth and nitrogen efficiency.