Effect of iron on yield and performance of upland rice (var OS₆) in South West Nigeria

Abstract

In areas of upland rice cultivation, iron deficiency symptoms have been observed on land that had been cultivated continuously for about four years.

Results from field experiments which continued for three years have indicated that iron affects posivitely the yield of rice on fields that had been cultivated for more than four years.

The fact that the application of iron did not have any effect on newly opened up land is attributed to a higher level of native organic matter.

The results from a greenhouse experiment indicated that iron increased leaf number, leaf area, straw weight at maturity, number of tillers, number and size of grains and encouraged higher N uptake.

On fields that had been previously cultivated for more than four years Fe increased average rice yield from 1.1 to 3.2 t ha⁻¹ and 1.9 to 3.4 t ha⁻¹ in Ikenne and Ibadan, respectively, while the average yield on newly cleared land increased from 1.6 to 2.1 ha⁻¹ and 3.2 to 3.4 tha⁻¹ in both locations.