WELCOME

Nitrogen Management in Rice

Presented by-
Dr. S. Pattanayak

Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology

 INTRODUCTION
Rice is the staple food of more than 60%
of the world’s population
 Area world wide: 161 m ha
 Production world wide: 678 m tonnes
 Yield :4.21 t/ha
 Area in India: 45 m ha
 Production in India: 99 m tonnes
 Yield: 2.17 t /ha
(FAO 2011)
 Role of Nitrogen
• Nitrogen is an integral part
of chlorophyll.
• N is an essential element
for several proteins
enzymes, vitamins and
hormones.
• It is the nutrient most often
limiting rice production.
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4
 Deficiency symptoms of Nitrogen in rice
1. Older leaves become orange yellow and die
from the tip downwards.
2. The new leaves are thin, short and stiff. Roots
are few in number, thin and elongated.
3. Nitrogen deficiency reduces the plant height
and number of tillers resulting in stunted
growth.
 Nitrogen forms in Rice field
• Di-nitrogen (N2)

• Ammonia (NH3 )

• Nitrate (NO3- )

• Nitrite (NO2–)

7 nitrogen forms present • Ammonium (NH4+)

where rice is produced in
submerged soil • Organic N (C-NH2)

• Nitrous oxide (N2O)

 Nitrogen entering the rice
production system
 N fertilizer – N2 is
converted into plant usable
forms using fossil fuel
energy
 Organic materials – N
is made available to plants
after decomposition
 Biological N fixation –
microorganisms convert N2
into a form usable by
plants
 Lightning – energy from
This diagram shows sources of N
lightning converts N2 into a
for the rice production system.
form usable by plants
 Nitrogen leaving the rice
production system
 Crop Harvest – N in the
grain is removed at harvest
 Ammonia volatilization – N
from fertilizer can be lost as a
gas
 Denitrification – Nitrate
converts to N gases escaping
into the atmosphere
 Runoff – N is carried from
the rice paddy by surface water
 Leaching – N moves with
water down into soil becoming
unavailable
This diagram shows how N is lost
or removed from the rice
production system.
Nitrification
 NH4+ in the presence of
O2 may be changed:
 NH4+ may be oxidized to
nitrite (NO2-) by
nitrosomonas bacteria
NO2- may be oxidized to
nitrate (NO3-) by
nitrobacter bacteria
 These processes are
both part of nitrification
 Denitrification
 NO3- is mobile because
of its high solubility in
water
 It may move via water
flow or diffusion into
anaerobic soil
 In anaerobic soil, NO3-
may be reduced by
bacteria to N2 or N2O
 N2 is the primary
product of denitrification
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Ammonium fixation
NH4+ ions get trapped
between layers of clay
particles
NH4+ becomes
unavailable to plants
Influenced by soil
moisture content, soil
pH, organic matter,
and soil temperature
Ammonium Ions trapped in soil
 Leaching and runoff
Leaching – Water moving down
into the soil can carry ammonium
and nitrate so they are no longer
available to plants.
While puddling of soil helps to
reduce leaching, it can continue
especially in sandy soil

Runoff - Runoff contributes to loss

of nitrogen when water carrying
nitrate drains from the paddy or
spills over the bund due to
excess water. 13
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 Nitrogen management:
 Realistic Nitrogen Recommendations
 Proper Timing of application
 Consideration of Nitrogen Materials
 Concern for Environment
 Urease Inhibitors
 Placement of nitrogenous fertilizer
Effect of variable nitrogen levels on NUE in
Japonica Rice
Nitrogen level
NUpE NUE
(kg/ha)

90 1.46 83.8

150 0.98 56.3

210 0.72 41.2

Shin-Gu Kang* et al. (2004)

Innovative fertilizer recommendations

• Integrate both preventive and corrective strategies

to manage nutrients efficiently, sustain the soil
resource base and increase the profitability

• Fertilizer use efficiency can be improved by

applying fertilizer when it is needed the most

• Optimizing yield and N use efficiency depends on

matching the size of the available N pool to
‘immediate’ crop demand, without excess or
deficiency, throughout the crop growth period
 Split nitrogen application
Three-split doses of nitrogen application

 one-third during final land preparation

 one-third at mid-tillering stage

 rest at 5-7 days before panicle initiation (DBPI)

(Dobermann and Fairhaurst, 2000)

 Nitrogenous fertilizers
Ammoniacal
Amide
Ammoniacal Nitrate and
fertilizer
Nitrate
1.Ammonium 1.Sodium 1.Ammonium 1.Urea
Sulphate Nitrate Nitrate

2.Ammonium 2.Calcium 2.Calcium 2.Calcium

chloride Nitrate Ammonium Cynamide
Nitrate
3.Anhydrous 3.Potassiu 3.Ammonium
ammonia m Nitrate Sulphate Nitrate
Forms of Urea
 N Fertilizers

Granulated urea Ammonium Urea prills

sulphate
 Site-specific nutrient management
(SSNM)

1. Establish
a yield target
Feedi
– the crop’s cro
ng
total needs
n
peed
s!
3. Fill deficit
between
total needs
2. ffectively and
use existing indigenous
nutrients supply
 Implementing SSNM
 Match early application of N with low initial
demand of rice for N.

 Dynamically apply N based on leaf color, as

a measure of plant need for N.

 Use existing recommendations for

micronutrients.

 Provide principles and guidelines to assist

decision making by extension and farmers.
Performance of site-specific nutrient management as compared
to farmer's fertilizer practice under rice-wheat cropping system
System productivity (t/ha)

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Sabour

Palampur
Ranchi

R.S. Pura
Ludhiana

Faizabad
Kanpur
Modipuram

Varanasi
Farmer's practice
Pantnagar
SSNM
Mean

Tiwari et.al. (2006)

System based and
INM Approach
 Grain and straw yield (q ha-1) of rice-wheat crop
sequence as influenced by integrated nutrient
supply system BHU (2011 - 12)
Grain yield Straw yield
Treatment (q ha-1) (q ha-1)

Rice Wheat Rice Wheat

Rice Wheat
T1 Control* Control 25.6 17.8 41.9 28.9
T2 50% RF 50% RF 43.5 34.0 66.0 51.1
T3 50% RF 100% RF 46.0 41.2 70.8 61.1
T4 75% RF 75% RF 48.7 39.5 75.5 55.3
T5 100% RF 100% RF 50.8 42.2 80.3 62.5
T6 50% RF + 50% N through FYM 100% RF 55.5 46.1 86.0 64.8
T7 75% RF + 25% N through FYM 75% RF 53.5 43.9 84.2 60.7
T8 50% RF + 50% N through CR 100% RF 44.8 42.8 73.9 64.0
T9 75% RF + 25% N through CR 75% RF 47.6 40.5 75.8 55.2
T10 50% RF + 50% N through GM 100% RF 53.1 43.8 79.4 58.0
T11 75% RF + 25% N through GM 75% RF 52.1 42.3 79.0 62.0
T12 Farmer’s practice** 45.1 36.8 69.2 56.1
S. Em 
REY and SYI of rice-wheat crop sequence as influenced
by integrated nutrient supply system. BHU (2011 - 12)
Treatment
REY SYI
Rice Wheat
(q/ha) (2008 -09 to
(2011-12) 2012-13)

T1 Control* Control 45.1 0.14

T2 50% RF 50% RF 80.9 0.48
T3 50% RF 100% RF 91.3 0.59
T4 75% RF 75% RF 92.2 0.60
T5 100% RF 100% RF 97.3 0.66
T6 50% RF + 50% N through FYM 100% RF 106.2 0.74
T7 75% RF + 25% N through FYM 75% RF 101.8 0.68
T8 50% RF + 50% N through CR 100% RF 91.9 0.60
T9 75% RF + 25% N through CR 75% RF 92.1 0.61
T10 50% RF + 50% N hrough GM 100% RF 101.3 0.67
T11 75% RF + 25% N through GM 75% RF 98.6 0.64
T12 Farmer’s practice** 85.6 0.53
Available N, P K of rice-wheat crop sequence as influenced
by integrated nutrient supply system BHU (2011-12)
Treatment
Available Available Available
Rice Wheat N P K
T1 Control* Control 146.9 10.5 152.0
T2 50% RF 50% RF 168.7 16.2 156.9
T3 50% RF 100% RF 187.4 17.1 172.7
T4 75% RF 75% RF 190.3 17.6 172.3
T5 100% RF 100% RF 198.4 19.1 189.7
T6 50% RF + 50% N through
FYM 100% RF 221.9 20.8 198.7
T7 75% RF + 25% N through
FYM 75% RF 202.8 19.5 192.8
T8 50% RF + 50% N through
CR 100% RF 206.6 19.0 206.5
T9 75% RF + 25% N through
CR 75% RF 197.7 18.1 192.5
T10 50% RF + 50% N 100%
through GM RF
 Economics of rice-wheat crop sequence as influenced
by integrated nutrient supply system (2011-12)
Treatment
O.C. B.D
Rice Wheat pH (%) (g/cc)
T1 Control* Control 7,78 0.34 1.56
T2 50% RF 50% RF 7.70 0.39 1.48
T3 50% RF 100% RF 7.78 0.45 1.52
T4 75% RF 75% RF 7.72 0.43 1.51
T5 100% RF 100% RF 7.69 0.49 1.49
T6 50% RF + 50% N
through FYM 100% RF 7.75 0.61 1.39
T7 75% RF + 25% N
through FYM 75% RF 7.72 0.55 1.44
T8 50% RF + 50% N
through CR 100% RF 7.73 0.56 1.44
T9 75% RF + 25% N
through CR 75% RF 7.71 0.51 1.46
T10 50% RF + 50% N
 Real-time N management
Leaf colour charts Chlorophyll meters

Optical sensors
Chlorophyll or SPAD Meter Leaf Color Chart
 The use of chlorophyll meter is based
on the fact that rice leaf greenness is - Simple and easy to use
determined by N concentrations which and inexpensive alternative
in turn is correlated with rice yield . to chlorophyll meter
- Measures leaf color intensity
 It displays a 3-digit SPAD value
which is related to leaf N
proportional to the amount of status
chlorophyll present in the leaf by
measuring the transmittance of the leaf - Helps farmers determine the
in two wavelengths (600-700 nm and right time of N application
400-500 nm).
On-farm Evaluation of Real-time Nitrogen
Management in Rice
Harmandeep Singh et. al.(2001)
 LCC based N applications at fixed growth
stages of rice at Gurdaspur
Fertilizer N applied (kg N/ha ) at DAT
Grain
Treatment yield
0 21 42 56 Total (t/ha)

1 0 20 40+ 40 100 7.2

2 0 20 40 0 60 6.0
3 0 40 40 40 120 7.0
4 0 40 40 0 80 6.8
5 20 20 40 40 120 7.0
6 20 20 40 0 80 6.8
7 20 40 20 40 120 7.3
8 20 40 20 0 80 6.3
Blanket
40 40 40 0 120 6.7
recom
No-N control 0 0 0 0 0 4.5
LSD (p=0.05) 0.54
40 kg N/ha at LCC<4 or 20 kg N/ha at LCC≥4 at 42 and 56 DAT
†
Sharma et.al. (2009)
Fertilizer recovery efficiency of rice after N
topdressing at MT and PI

Fertilizer N recovery efficiency

N level IRRI PRRI
kg ha -1
Mid tillering
50 38.9 ± 2.5 53.8 ± 1.9
100 42.1 ± 1.3 55.3 ± 1.9
Panicle initiation
50 77.1 ± 2.5 78.4 ± 1.4
100 74.5 ±0.3 73.7 ± 3.1

Peng and Cassman (1998)

GreenSeekerTM N-Fertilizer Handheld Optical
Sensor
 Optically estimates plant biomass, total nitrogen in the
crop, and plant stress
 Can sample scan a crop (rice or wheat)
 Data can be used to calculate response index for added
nitrogen fertilizer

Holland sensor:
590±10 and 880±10 nm

GreenSeeker sensor:
670±10 and 780±10 nm
 Partial factor productivity (PFPN) of different N
management strategies in rice

[FFP =Farmer fertilizer practice; BR = Blanket recommendation;

R T-LCC = Real time N management using leafcolor chart;
FDVR-LCC = Fixed-date variable rate N management using LCC].
Sharma et al. (2009)
 Use of Organic Sources

• FYM
• COMPOST
• VERMICOMPOST
• CROP RESIDUE
• GREEN MANURING
Use of Biofertilizer
 Free living Bacteria:
 Can result in 15 kg N per
hectare per year
 Examples:
 Azospirillum (aerobic)
 Azotobacter spp. (aerobic)
 Clostridium spp.
(anaerobic)

BGA:
● Single cell organisms living on
the surface of water or plants in
a submerged environment
● 15-25 kg N per hectare can be
fixed per crop 41
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Azolla
● Some species of azolla
fern grow in association
with Anabaena azollae,
a blue green algae
which fixes N2
● It can produce 20-40
kg N per hectare per rice
crop
 Conclusion
Nitrogen loss in rice particularly under low land
condition is immense.
 Careful management can minimize the losses.
 Split application of N, real time N management
through LCC & SPAD increase nitrogen use
efficiency
 System based integrated nutrient management
approaches can enhance the efficiency of applied
Nitrogenous fertilizers.
Thank