Effects of pre-seed and seedling treatment by phosphorus fertilizer on growth and grain yield of lowland rice

摘要

Rapidly increasing costs of fertilizers and lack of purchasing credit for farmers have led to the inability to access sufficient quantity of fertilizers, particularly in developing countries, resulting in low crop production. In addition, the loss andlow use efficiency of fertilizers can be noted in common fertilizer application methods such as spreading fertilizer over the field. Hence, reducing the loss of fertilizer per planting area and increasing fertilizer use efficiency are necessary. Fertilizer seed coating and seedling soaking methods have long been considered as the options to reduce the quantity of fertilizer use in agriculture; however, the information regarding these methods is still lacking. This study aimed to investigate the potential of using small quantity of chemical fertilizer to improve the early growth of rice seedlings in a lowland system.