Data on effect of variety, seedling transplanting age and nitrogen fertilizer rates on growth performance of rice in Southern Guinea Savannah, Nigeria

The age of rice seedling at transplanting and application of nitrogen fertilizer are important husbandry practices for improved rice growth. The data showed the effect of variety, seedling transplanting age and nitrogen fertilizer rates on the growth of rice. Agronomic field trial was conducted during 2015 and 2016 planting seasons at National Cereals Research Institute Farms of Edozhigi and Badeggi located in the Southern Guinea Savannah of Nigeria. To assessed the effect of variety, seedling transplanting age and nitrogen fertilizer rates on the growth of rice. Treatments were laid out as split–split plot arrangement fitted into Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The main plot consisted of two rice varieties (FARO 44 and FARO 52), four seedling transplanting ages (7, 14, 21 and 28 days after planting) and five inorganic N fertilizer rates (0, 60, 120, 180 and 240 kg N/ha) constituted the sub-plot and sub-sub plot respectively. Growth data viz plant height, number of tillers and leaf area index were measured at 30 and 45 days after transplanting (DAT) during the two planting seasons. Plant height was taken from five randomly selected and tagged plants from ground surface to the tip of the leaf or panicle of the main stem using measuring tape. The number of tillers per plant was counted from five randomly selected and tagged hills in each plot from two middle rows. .The leaf area (cm(2)) of the leaves was obtained from five randomly selected tagged plants by measuring the leaf length from the base to the tip with a ruler also the widest part of the leaf. The leaf area (LA) was estimated using the equation: LA = length × breath × 0.75 [1]. The leaf area value obtained was used to calculate the leaf area index (LAI), which describes the efficiency of the photosynthetic process on the photosynthetic surface and calculated as the total leaf area/ground area. Data collected were subjected to one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using GenSTAT 11(th) edition and the difference between treatments mean tested using least significant difference (LSD) at 5% probability level. The data are of value to agronomists in search of reference. It has the potential to be used to predict seedling age of rice at transplanting and the appropriate nitrogen fertilizer rate for rice growth.