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Rice is the main crop for India, in eastern part comprising mainly of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and parts of Uttar Pradesh rice cultivation is feasible both during Kharif and summer seasons in the irrigated tracts. Of the total 38.9 million hectares under rice in India, about 20 million ha or 50% of the area are under lowland where there is standing water of varying depths depending on the topography of the land for varying periods. Nitrogen plays on important role in regulating life span of a crop. Evidences are there to show that nitrogen application in rice at later stages of growth enhances maturity time. However, rice varieties having early maturity time. An experiment was conducted on split application of nitrogen on physiological maturity in rice at Dighwadubauli, Baikunthpur, Gopalganj, Bihar during two consecutive seasons of year 2009 and 2010 respectively. The results shown that plant height and leaf area index was significant at 20th day of transplanting when the amount of nitrogen applied as basal dressing. Plots getting higher doses at transplanting had better expression of these characters. After application of second instalment of nitrogen at active tillering stage, when the treatments completed 75 to 100 percent quota of the full dose of nitrogen, there was no significant difference in plant height and leaf area index in the subsequent observations. Plots getting nitrogen in two equal splits either in 50:50 or 25:75 ratio at transplanting and active tillering stage produced highest grain yields. Very high basal dressing (75%) was associated with production of lowest grain yields.
Keywords: Nitrogen, Split application, physiological maturity, Oryza sativa