ABSTRACT
The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of different water management, tillage systems and weed control on leaf area index and plant height of irrigated rice. The experiment was conducted during the 1993/94 crop growing season in the Rural Engineering Department Experimental Field at the Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria - RS. The rice cultivar, BR-IRGA-414, was sown on December 22, 1993 in rows spaced 0.16m apart, using 124 seeds/m. A factorial (23) experiment in a completely randomized block design was used. Two irrigation dates (15 and 30 days after emergence); two tillage system (minimum and conventional) and two weed control levels (with and without chemical application) were tested. Differences in rice leaf area index were observed between the two irrigation dates during the beginning of the vegetative stage and near the end of grain maturation. However, differences in plant height were observed during vegetative and flowering stages. Plant leaf area was larger at the beginning of the vegetative stage for plants that received irrigation at 15 days after emergency. Rice plants cultivated in the minimum tillage system resulted in higher plant height than those cultivated with conventional tillage.
Key words:
Oryza sativa L; irrigation; cultivation; herbicides; plant height