INFLUENCE OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZER COMBINATION ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF RICE

Abstract

Rice is one of the most important agricultural crop in the country. It is considered as the staple food of Filipinos. Several factors influenced crop yield. One of the important factor that influences the yield of rice is fertilizer management which should be applied at the right amount in order to have higher yield. The used of organic fertilizer is now on a high gear due to the benefits it can provide in the soil such as improvement of the soil fertility, soil structure, water holding capacity and others. This study aims to determine the best organic and inorganic fertilizer combination that would give better growth and higher yield of rice. It was conducted at the Pangasinan State University, Sta. Maria Experimental Station from June to November 2017 during the 2017 wet season. Randomized Complete Block Design with six treatments and three replications was used in this study. In the comparison among treatment means Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) Test was used. Results showed that Treatment 6 (90-60-60 + 1 ton Vermicompost) registered the tallest plant height at maturity, more number of productive tillers, longer length of panicle, more number of filled grains, higher yield per plot and computed yield per hectare. Based on the result of the study, it is recommended that application of organic and inorganic fertilizer combination be used in rice production in order to have better growth and development and higher yield of rice.