Interaction effects of nitrogen fertilization and Napthalene acetic acid foliar spray on productivity and grain quality of rice
Rice production and agronomic performance
10 / 1
Authors
-
Abdelfatah Gharieb
Rice Research Center
-
Mai Elsaka
-
Ghada Elsayed
Keywords:
Oryza sativa L., plant growth regulators, heat stress tolerance, milling recovery, sustainable crop managementAbstract
Rice productivity in Egypt is increasingly constrained by rising temperatures, limited resources, and the need to improve nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE). Although 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) can enhance crop growth and nutrient utilization, its interaction with nitrogen fertilization in newly released Egyptian rice cultivars remains poorly understood. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of nitrogen fertilization and foliar NAA application on productivity, grain quality, nutrient accumulation, and NUE of the rice cultivar Giza 184 under transplanted conditions following barley. The experiment was arranged in a split-plot design with four replications, comprising four nitrogen rates (0, 55, 110, and 165 kg N ha-1) and four NAA concentrations (0, 5, 10, and 15 ppm). NAA was sprayed at 25 and 55 days after transplanting. Nitrogen and NAA significantly improved growth, yield attributes, grain quality, and nutrient concentrations (N, P, K, and Zn) in grain and straw. The combined application of 165 kg N ha-1 and 15 ppm NAA produced the highest grain yields (11.61 and 11.80 t ha-1) and straw yields (17.83 and 17.92 t ha-1) during 2024 and 2025, respectively. This treatment also enhanced milling quality and nutrient accumulation, with grain phosphorus concentration reaching 0.214% and 0.213% and straw potassium concentration reaching 2.41% and 2.63% in the respective years. However, the highest NUE was achieved at 110 kg N ha-1 combined with 10-15 ppm NAA. Integrating NAA with nitrogen fertilization can therefore improve rice productivity, grain quality, nutrient enrichment, and NUE, contributing to more sustainable rice production in Egypt.
References
Abou El-ghit HM (2015). Effect of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on growth and yield of rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis L.) under salinity stress. Egypt J. Bot. 56: 303-317
Aryan S, Gulab G, Kakar K, Habibi N, Amin MW, Sadat MI, ... & Zerak A (2023). Auxin application at the flowering stage of rice alleviates the negative impact of heat stress on spikelet fertility and yield attributes. Agriculture 13(4): 866
Duncan BD (1955). Multiple range and multiple F-test. Biometrics 11: 1-42
Elsadek EA, Zhang K, Hamoud YA, Mousa A, Awad A, Abdallah M, Shaghaleh H, Hamad AAA, Jamil MT, and Elbeltagi, A. (2024). Impacts of climate change on rice yields in the Nile River Delta of Egypt: A large-scale projection analysis based on CMIP6. Agricultural Water Management 292: 108673
Goyal K, Singh N, Jindal S, Kaur R, Goyal A and Awasthi R (2022). Kjeldahl method. Advanced Techniques of Analytical Chemistry 1(1): 105
Hasnain Z, Bakhsh I Hussain, Sheheryar and EA Khan (2020). Naphthalene Acetic Acid and Irrigation regime influence on paddy yield and its economics under Arid conditions. Planta Daninha 38: e020200937
Hussain I, Khakwani AA, Bakhsh I, Khan A and Sheheryar A (2021). Effect of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on grain yield and bioeconomic efficiency of coarse rice (Oryza sativa L.). Pak. J. Bot. 53(6): 2017-2023
Jones Jr JB and Case VW (1990). Sampling, handling, and analyzing plant tissue samples. Soil Test. Plant Anal. 3: 389-427
Jones J (2018). Soil Analysis Handbook of Reference Methods (1st ed.). Soil and Plant Analysis Council Inc., (Ed.). CRC Press
Juliano BO (1971). A simplified assay for milled rice amylose cereal. Sci. Today 16: 334-360
Kurpea J and Smalle JA (2020). Auxin/cytokinin antagonistic control of the shoot/root growth ratio and its relevance for the adaptation to drought and nutrient deficiency stresses. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23, Article 1993
Liu Y, W Chen, Y Ding, Q Wang, G Li and S Wang (2012). Effect of gibberellic acid and a-naphthalene acetic acid on the growth of unproductive tiller and grain yield of rice African. J. of Agric. Res. 7(4): 534-539
Muthukumar VB, K Vilayudham and N Thavaprakaash (2007). Plant growth regulators and split application of nitrogen improves quality parameters and green cob yield of baby corn (Zea mays L.). J. Agron. 6: 208-211
Naveed M, Sarwar N, Mubeen K, Rehman U, Farooq O, Wasaya A and Yasir TA (2024). Elevated auxin levels during the reproductive stage improve rice crop productivity and grain quality. Acta Agrobotanica 77
Pandey AK, Tripathi RS and Yadav (2001). Effect of certain growth regulators on growth yield and quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Ind. J. Agric. Res. 35(2): 118-120
Sajid M, N Amin, H Ahmad and K Khan (2016). Effect of gibberellic acid on enhancing flowering time in Chrysanthemum morifolium. Pak. J. Bot. 48(2): 477-483
Sharma L, Dalal M, Verma RK, Kumar SV, Yadav SK, Pushkar S ... & Chinnusamy V (2018). Auxin protects spikelet fertility and grain yield under drought and heat stresses in rice. Environmental and Experimental Botany 150: 9-24
Suseendran K, Kalaiyarasan C, Jawahar S, Stalin P, Murugan G, Vinodkumar SR and Arivukkarasu K (2020). Response of rice to foliar application of plant growth regulator on growth and yield of rice. Plant Archives (09725210): 20(1)
Tiwari DK, Pandey P, Giri SP and Dwivedi JL (2011). Effect of GA3 and other plant growth regulators on hybrid rice seed production. Asian J. Pl. Sci. 10(2): 133-139
Downloads
Submitted
Published
Data Availability Statement
This data has not been previously published or made available in prior publications.
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 ORYZA-An International Journal of Rice
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.