Effects of different irrigation and fertilizer combinations on lodging incidents in rice

Lodging in rice is an important agricultural issue that reduces grain productivity and quality. Although many studies have exhibited strong evidence of the correlation between water management and fertilizer application on rice lodging, the field mechanism of lodging incidents is still a hot topic. This research evaluated the effects of different irrigation systems and levels of fertilizer combinations on the incidence of rice lodging. The research was conducted using a split-plot design at the Cikarawang Experimental Station, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia. The irrigation treatments were continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD), while fertilizer treatments were control (F1), urea 175 kg ha −1 (F2), urea 350 kg ha −1 (F3), urea 262.5 kg ha −1 + manure A (F4), urea 525 kg ha −1 + rice straw A (F5), and urea 175 kg ha −1 + manure B + biochar 0.6 t ha −1 (F6). Results showed that lodging incidents on AWD treatments were lower than those on CF, i.e., 34.72%. Increasing levels of nitrogen increased the lodging incident and the lodging area. Interestingly, border plants showed more resilience to lodging than inside plants; however, increasing lodging severity also affected border plants. On the other hand, the number of unproductive tillers had a negative correlation with lodging incidents, indicating the importance of unproductive tillers in lodging-prone areas. Further study is required to investigate the effects of irrigation systems and fertilizer combinations on canopy architecture to increase farming resilience to extreme weather.