The effect of silica and manganese application on rice growth and yield

Abstract

The application of silica and manganese through the leaves can be directly absorbed by the rice plants for growth and yield. This study aimed to determine the effect of the increasing silica and manganese concentration and their interaction on plant growth and rice yield. The greenhouse research was conducted in the Seed and Plant Breeding Laboratory, Agriculture Faculty, Lampung University from June–September 2013. The treatments were arranged in a 5x2 factorial consisting of five concentrations of Si [(0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 ppm), and two concentrations of Mn (0 and 5ppm)] in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that increasing concentration of Si increased the green of leaves, the number of productive tillers, dry weight, filled grains number, and decreased angle of the tiller and the number of empty grains. The application of Mn increased the growth and rice yield, except angle of tillers and the number of empty grains. In addition, the effect of Mn depended on the level of Si concentration. Application of Mn with increasing Si concentration increased plant growth and rice yield.