Growth Attributes of Barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i> L.) in Relation to Soil Moisture Regimes and NPK Fertilizers

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in the experimental field of Rajshahi University Campus, Bangladesh during the rabi season of 2004-2005 to study the growth attributes of four varieties of barley (BARI Barley-1, BARI Barley-2, BHL-3, BL-1) in relation to different soil moisture regimes and NPK fertilizers. Three levels of irrigation (I₀, I₁, I₂) and four levels of NPK fertilizers (F₀, F₁, F₂, F₃) were adopted in split-split plot design with three replications. Total dry matter (TDM), leaf area index (LAI) and crop growth rate (CGR) were increased with increasing number of irrigations. Net assimilation rate (NAR) fluctuated but in most of the cases, it was highest and lowest in the I₂ treatment at the first and last harvest. With few exceptions, I₀ treatment had the highest and lowest leaf area ratio (LAR) at the first and last harvest, respectively. The highest and lowest TDM, LAI and CGR were in the F₃ and F₀ treatment, respectively. NAR was higher in the fertilized plant than in the control plants. The highest and the lowest LAR were in the F₀ treatment at the first and last harvest, respectively. Most of the growth attributes were higher in BHL-3.

Key words: Barley, irrigation regimes, NPK fertilizers, growth attributes.  

DOI:10.3329/jbs.v16i0.3736   

J. bio-sci. 16: 19-24, 2008