Evaluation of Nano-DAP on Plant Growth, Enzymatic Activity and Yield in Paddy (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during Rabi 2022-23 at the College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, focusing on the impact of using nano-DAP through foliar application on plant growth, yield, enzymatic activity and nutrient content in paddy variety KNM 1638. The experiment employed a randomized block design (RBD) with seven different treatments, each replicated three times. The study recorded various growth parameters, enzymatic activity, yield and nutrient content. The results demonstrated that, application of 100% NK + 75% P in combination with two foliar sprays of nano-DAP at both tillering and panicle initiation stages (T6) led to superior plant growth parameters such as number of tillers hill-1 (13.18), total dry matter (42.12 g hill-1), increased yield parameters such as number of productive tillers hill-1 (11.25), number of grains panicle-1 (297) and yield (7530.86 kg ha-1) and nutrient content such as N (2.33%), P (0.19%) and K content (1.68%). The enzyme Glutamine Synthetase (GS) activity was found to be significantly higher with the application of 100% NPK with two foliar sprays of nano-DAP at tillering and panicle initiation stages (T3). While the acid and alkaline phosphatase activity recorded maximum with 100%.