Effects of Planting Distance on Yield and Agro-morphological Characteristics of Local Rice (Bara Variety) in Northeast Afghanistan

To evaluate the effect of planting distance on yield and agro-morphological characteristics of Bara variety (local variety of rice), a field experiment was carried out at the experimental station of the Agricultural Faculty of Kunduz University in 2016. Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with four replications was used in the experiment. Transplanting distances with four levels viz. 10x10 cm, 15x15 cm, 20x20 cm, and 25 x 25 cm were used as treatment. Results showed that planting distance had significant effects on tillers number, leaf color, non-filled grain, total grain, and 1000 grains weight. In contrary, no significant effects on plant height, panicle length, number of filled grain per panicle and grain yield were observed between spacing. The spacing of 25 x 25 cm had produced the highest performance for most of the agro-morphological traits evaluated. Grain yield was found similar in all spacing but other yield components like total number of tillers (16.63) and total grain per panicle (119.43) were found statistically superior in 25 x 25 cm planting distance. Overall, the results of this study revealed that the planting distance of 25 x 25 cm seemed to be the best as requires lower seed and fertilizer (lower cost) and can, therefore, be suggested to the farmers for a better valorization of Bara variety in northeastern Afghanistan. Similar investigations are strongly recommended in other agro-ecological zones of the country where Bara variety is largely grown to confirm these findings.