The Performance of Selected Nerica Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Cultivars under a Rainfed Irrigation System in Igboora, Oyo State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Rice, Cultivars, Growth, Yield, RainfedAbstract
The growth and yield performance of selected NERICA rice cultivars under rained-fed irrigation at was evaluated. Three cultivars (NERICA 7, NERICA 8 and NERICA 10) of rice were selected for the study. A randomized complete block design was used to arrange the cultivars. The cultivars were established using standard procedure and the growth and yield parameters were examined. Data collected were: plant height, number of leaves, number of tillers, number of days to 50% flowering, panicle weight, number of grains per panicle and weight of grain per plant. All data collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance and significant treatment means were separated by Least Significant different at 5% level of probability. From the result, the rice cultivars showed significant differences in the growth and yield characters considered. NERICA 8 produced the highest weight of grain (2.9 g), followed by NERICA 10 (2.0 g), while NERICA 7 produced the lowest significant grain weight (1.7 g). However, NERICA 10 had the shortest number of days to 50% flowering (75), while NERICA 8 had the longest number of days to flower (95). It was observed that the differences in growth and yield parameters were due to genotypic composition. However, all the cultivars can be cultivated in the study area and thus, were recommended for commercial production to rice farmers.