Evaluation of Coarse Rice Varieties under the Agro-Ecological Zone of Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The conducted research aims to compare coarse rice's performance under the Mansehra agro ecological zone. Two consecutive rice varieties i.e. Royal Early and Fakhr-e-Malakand (check variety) were planted. The experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research Station Baffa, Mansehra, during the 2022 rice-growing season. The experiment was designed in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Data were recorded on various morphological and yield attributing traits characters, i.e. days to emergence, number of tillers/m², plant height (cm), leaf area (cm), days to maturity, 1000 grain weight (g), and grain yield (kg ha^-1). Analysis of variance showed that all characteristics were significantly different among different rice varieties. The variety Fakhr-e-Malakand (check variety) recorded a maximum plant height of 81 (cm), the maximum 1000 grain weight (27.11 g), and has high grain yield (2888.43 kg ha^-1), followed by Royal Early (1046.63 kg ha^-1). Based on these results it is recommended that Fakhr-e-Malakand is more suited to the agro-ecological zone of Mansehra, showing superior performance in terms of growth and yield.