Effects Of Nitrogen Fertilizer On Yields And Quality Of Selected Rice Varieties At Mwea Irrigation Scheme, Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Rice is a staple food and the main source of calories and proteins for more than half of the world population. Its increasing demand in Africa made it a commodity for food security and poverty reduction. Rice ranks third in Kenya’s staple food after maize and wheat. Its consumption has been growing rapidly due to urbanization and changing eating habits in both rural and urban households. In 2014, local rice production was estimated at 129,000 metric tonnes, while consumption was 548,000 metric tonnes. Increased production is required in order to meet the huge deficit. Similar to other countries, yield of rice in Kenya can be increased by selecting appropriate high yielding varieties and conducting appropriate cultivation practices particularly planting time and nitrogen management which in addition is thought to impact on grain quality. The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of Nitrogen fertilization on growth, yields and quality of three rice varieties namely Basmati370, BW196 and IR72. Field experiments were conducted at Kirogo Farm in KALRO Mwea, Kirinyaga County in two seasons. The first season was from the month of February to June, 2014 while the second season was from January to June, 2015. The trial was a split plot arrangement in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) replicated three times. Rice varieties (Basmati370, BW196 and IR72) formed the main plot while fertilizer rates (75 Kg N ha -1, 125 Kg N ha -1, 175 Kg N ha-1 and 225 Kg N ha -1 ) were the sub-plots. Soil sampling was done before planting in order to establish the Nitrogen status of the site.