Effect of Naphthalene Acetic Acid on yield and quality of Rice under different Phosphorus levels

More than 50% of the world's population consumes rice and it is ranked as second staple food after wheat in Pakistan. Limited movement of beneficial assimilates from source to the sink in rice is major cause of less production. Foliar application of naphthalene acetic acid on rice influences its life cycle via metabolic processes through improvement in translocation of beneficial assimilates from source to sink, and hence enhancement in yield. To check the efficiency of exogenously applied naphthalene acetic acid on yield and quality of rice under different phosphorus levels, a pot experiment was carried out in kharif season 2019 at greenhouse/wire-house, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Pots were arranged in completely randomized design with factorial treatments structure and three replications. Naphthalene acetic acid was applied as foliar spray (0, 100, 150, and 200 mg L-1) at 60 days after sowing and different doses of phosphorus (0, 30, 60 and 90 kg ha(-1)) were applied in soil at sowing. Using various standard procedures data were recorded regarding yield and quality of rice. All the acquired data were statistically examined by using Fisher's ANOVA method to check variability and variation between treatments means were compared at 5% probability level by using Tukey's HSD test. Plant height (134.7 cm), number of tillers per plant (10.4), number of panicles per plant (9.75), total grains per panicle (102.8), 1000-grain weight (30.3 g), normal kernels (76.12%), grain protein (9.54%) and grain phosphorus (2.51 mg g(-1)) were best with 90 kg ha(-1) phosphorus with 150 mg g(-1) naphthalene acetic acid. Abortive kernels (6.28%), opaque kernels (10.99%) and chalky kernels (12.79%) were less at 90 kg ha(-1) phosphorus with 150 mg g(-1) naphthalene acetic acid and maximum at control condition. It was concluded that 90 kg ha(-1) phosphorus with 150 mg g(-1) naphthalene acetic acid improve agronomic, quality and seed quality parameters of rice crop.