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An experiment was conducted in silt loam soil (pH 6.52) to compare the effect of the
recommended dose of N (80 kg N ha-1) with that of incorporated two layers of Azolla plus
40 kg N ha-1 or Azolla left floating (no incorporation) plus 40 kg N ha-1 on the yield and
NPS uptake by BR 26 rice. The highest grain yield of 3.95 t ha-1 with the highest total
(grain + straw) uptake of 75.4 kg N ha-1, 32.7 kg P ha-1 and 8.5 kg S ha-1 were recorded
for incorporations of two layers of Azolla (grown from 0.2 kg m-2 inoculum) at 25 and 40
DAT plus application of 40 kg N ha-1 at 15 and 60 DAT- all of which remained statistically
at par with their counterparts of another similar treatment but using 0.1 kg m-2 inoculum
instead. All these data differed significantly with those that were recorded against the
recommended dose of N as urea. Azolla left growing after inoculation was found
significantly beneficial for rice growth. Azolla contributed to the increased uptake of N, P
and S. Incorporation of two layers of Azolla biomass showed slight increases in soil organic
matter status (from 1.85% initial to 1.88% after crop harvest).
