Abstract

This experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Botany experimental field of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka during the period from January to April 2014 to study the effect of
sowing times on the yield attributes of an exotic (China) hybrid rice variety in Bangladesh. Five treatments were considered regarding 5 sowing dates or transplanting dates viz. (i) S1 = 1st sowing at 1st January 2014; transplanted at 21^st January, (ii) S₂ = 2^nd sowing at 21^st January; transplanted at 11^th February, (iii) S₃ = 3^rd sowing at 11^th February; transplanted at 3^rd March, (iv) S₄ = 4^th sowing at 3^rd March; transplanted at 23^rd March and (v) S₅ = 5^th sowing at 23^rd March; transplanted at 13^th April. Data were recorded on different growth parameters to examine the effect of sowing times on the yield attributes of the tested variety. The studied parameters were significantly affected by different sowing times or transplanting times. Results revealed that different parameters regarding yield attributes, the seeds of the test variety sown at 1^st January 2014 and transplanted at 21^st January (S₁) furnished the best results in respect of the weight of filled grain hill^-1 (38.87 g), weight of filled grain plot^-1 (2.18 kg), 1000 seed weight (36.00g), grain yield ha-1 (3.64 ton) and the highest harvest index (43.46%) compared to the seedling transplanted on other dates or times. These findings can be used in further breeding program.

Keywords: Sowing dates; Yield attributes; Hybrid rice variety