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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
Rural Outreach Program
ISSN: 1684-5358 EISSN: 1684-5358
Vol. 18, No. 2, 2018, pp. 13304-13316
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Bioline Code: nd18034
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2018, pp. 13304-13316
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AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF FOUR UPLAND RICE GENOTYPES UNDER RAINFED CONDITION
Ndebeh, AK; Asumanah, P; Ndebeh, J; Ndaloma, PG; Lahai, SJB; Kolleh, DM & Ahiakpa, JK
Abstract
Upland rice fields cover up to 1.8 million hectares of the 4.7 million hectares of global
rice fields, while farmers’ average yield of upland rice is far below the yield potential of
existing traditional genotypes, particularly in West Africa. Grain yields of rice in Liberia
are generally low, ranging from 0.5-1.5 tons per hectare (t/ha). A field study was
conducted to evaluate yield and agronomic performances of four genotypes of rice
(Nerica 8, Nerica 4, Arica 5 and LAC 23) on a typical fine sandy loam soil in the upper
highland tropical forest agro-ecological Zone (UHTF AZ) of Liberia. The Randomized
Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used with four replicates in four blocks. Data were
taken on key agronomic characters including plant height; days to 50 % flowering;
number of tillers; number of panicles; grain weight; panicle length; number of grains per
plant; seed length and stem diameter at the base. Results from the Analysis of Variance
(ANOVA) indicated that there were significant differences between the control (Lac 23)
and the improved genotypes (Nerica 8, Arica 5 and Nerica 4) for all characters measured
except for panicle length, seed length and stem diameter. Correlation analysis was also
performed to establish extent of association between major yield components and grain
yield. Days to 50 % flowering correlated significantly with plant height, number of tillers
and number of panicles per plant. Nerica 8, Arica 5 and Nerica 4 recorded the highest
yield and may, therefore, be recommended to smallholder farmers in the upper highland
forest zone. Lac 23, Arica 5 and Nerica 8 may be recommended for local farmers, who
prefer high yielding, and relatively medium heighted improved rice cultivars or their
interspecific hybrids. This is because extremely tall rice genotypes are susceptible to
lodging, particularly in stormy conditions that are prevalent in the upper highland tropical
forest agro-ecological zone of Liberia. Other approaches may be required to test these
cultivars under harsh environments (such as water deficit condition) and different agro-ecologies
across the country. We also recommend organoleptic assessments of Nerica 4,
Nerica 8 and Arica 5 to boost their acceptability among consumers in the country.
Keywords
Upland rice; agronomic performance; improved genotypes; Nerica; correlation; Liberia
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