Performance Evaluation of Spring Rice Variety Chaite-5 with Varied age of Seedlings and Plant Spacing in Rajapur, Bardiya District of Nepal

Despite the considerable potential for spring rice production in Bardiya District, the average yield remains below the national average. Various factors affect spring rice production, with seedling age and spacing being significant determinants of productivity. The utilization of older seedlings and improper spacing often lead to decreased yields in transplanted rice systems. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the optimal seedling age and planting spacing for Spring rice cultivars (Chaite-5) in transplanted rice systems. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of rice (var. Chaite-5) grown with different seedling ages and planting configurations in Rajapur, Bardiya during the spring season of 2022. The experiment included seedlings from four age groups (19, 22, 25, and 28 days) and three planting geometries (15x15cm, 20x20cm, and 25x25cm). Various parameters such as plant height, number of tillers per hill, effective tillers per hill, panicle length, filled grains, total grains per panicle, sterility percentage, 1000-seed weight (TGW), and grain yield were recorded. The findings revealed that the growth cycle was shortened by 19-22 days for young seedlings (13-day-old) compared to older seedlings (28-day-old), indicating accelerated growth with the transplantation of younger seedlings. Moreover, 22-day-old seedlings exhibited significantly higher numbers of tillers per hill (19) and effective tillers per hill (11), along with higher 1000-seed weight (18.88 g) and grain yield (5121.88 kg/ha). Similarly, crops planted with a spacing of 20x20 cm2 demonstrated significantly higher numbers of tillers per hill (19), effective tillers per hill (10.97), higher 1000-grain weight (20.15 g), and grain yield (5106.50 kg/ha).