IMPACT OF NITROGEN SOURCES ON THE PERFOMANCE OF LOWLAND RAINFED RICE AT EDOZHIGI IN THE SOUTHERN GUINEA SAVANNA OF NIGERIA

Abstract

Field trials were conducted at Edozhigi, in the southern Guinea savanna of Nigeria during the 2020 and 2021 cropping seasons to determine the response of lowland rainfed rice to two Nitrogen sources (urea super granule (USG) and granular urea (GU)). There treatments consisted of five levels of USG (80, 90, 100, 110, 120 kg N ha^-1) and six levels of GU (40, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120 kg N ha^-1) and a control (0). The 12 treatments were laid out in a randomised complete block (RCBD) with three replicates. Result of the physical and chemical analysis of soil of the experimental field revealed that, soil had sandy clay loam texture with slightly acidic soil reaction. The soil organic carbon, total N, available P, exchangeable cataionic nutrients were all low in the soil which make the soil to have low fertility. Result of the study indicated that, plant growth and maturity period were not significantly affected by the application of N. The result further shows a significant response to application of USG, but not to GU. The highest paddy yield of 4.53 Mg ha^-1 was recorded for USG at 90 kg N ha^-1 which was significantly higher than that of the control and the GU treatments, but statistically similar to most of the other USG treatments. The USG is recommended as a source of N for the enhancement of the paddy yield.