 Hi! This is Risa once again and this is part 3 on the ABC of proper nutrition for healthy rice plants Remember that when your rice plants are healthy, you can be more certain of a good harvest As a review, proper nutrition simply means giving rice plants the right nutrients in the right amount at the right time Again, proper nutrition is as easy as ABC A. Acquaint yourself with the important nutrients needed by the rice plant B. Become familiar with the critical growth stages of the rice plant C. Check your fertilizer application at tillering and panicle initiation In the last two videos, we learned about the A and B of the ABC of proper nutrition In this video, we will talk about the C Check your fertilizer application at tillering and panicle initiation Specifically, you will learn how much nutrients to apply to your rice crop at these two stages As young rice plants grow, they will undergo two important growth stages which will ultimately have an effect on their yield These two stages are tillering and panicle initiation During these two stages, nitrogen is needed to support the rapid growth of rice plants The tillering stage is around 24 to 30 days after transplanting of transplanted rice or sowing of direct seeded rice This is when rice plants begin to grow faster and start to produce tillers Tillers in turn will produce panicles or grain bunches At this stage, rice plants start taking up nutrients more rapidly An adequate supply of nitrogen is important at this stage in order to achieve the optimal number of tillers for high yield In season's favorable for achieving high rice yield, more nitrogen is needed to ensure production of enough tillers However, in a low yielding season, fewer tillers and hence less nitrogen are needed After they have produced their optimal tiller number, rice plants undergo an important stage of development the panicle initiation stage This is a critical stage for rice plants to receive nitrogen Rice plants are at panicle initiation stage when they initially begin to develop panicles or grain bunches that produce the grains If rice plants are not supplied with enough nitrogen at this stage, the result could be fewer grains per panicle leading to a loss of yield and profit In the tropics, the optimal timing of nitrogen application for panicle initiation is about 60 days before harvest To determine when to apply nitrogen fertilizer for panicle initiation, first determine the total number of days your rice crop is expected to be in the field For example, a medium early maturing variety transplanted using 14 day old seedlings can be harvested after about 100 days in the field In this case, simply deduct 60 days from this number of days in the field This means that if your crop is in the field for 100 days, you should apply nitrogen about 40 days after transplanting For direct seeded rice, simply deduct 60 days from the number of days from sowing to harvest For example, with a variety in the field for 100 total days, simply deduct 60 days from this number This means nitrogen for panicle initiation should be applied at about 40 days after sowing For high yields, rice plants can require more potassium than supplied by the early application of potassium containing fertilizer But the need for additional potassium at panicle initiation depends on whether organic materials were applied or whether rice straw was returned to the field after threshing When organic materials or straw are spread onto your field, you typically don't need to apply additional potassium at panicle initiation because the organic materials contain potassium When organic materials and straw are not applied, you might need to apply additional potassium at this stage when yields are expected to be high such as greater than about 150 sacks or caverns of fresh palai per hectare One option is to choose Muriate of Botash or 0060 and apply it with Urea at Panicle Initiation Another option is to apply an NK containing fertilizer like 17.017 at Panicle Initiation When using a hybrid variety and targeting more than 150 sacks or caverns of fresh palai per hectare, you might need to apply Urea at Heading Stage About one bag of Urea per hectare can be applied to hybrid rice at Heading Stage when plants are yellowish and climate is favorable for high yield Again, the same general principle operates The need of rice for fertilizer depends on the expected yield of rice The need of rice for nutrients increases in proportion to rice yield Rice typically needs more added nutrients from fertilizers in high than in low yielding conditions Apply more fertilizer in higher yielding seasons and higher yielding location For a fertilizer recommendation specific to your rice field, please consult the Nutrient Manager for Rice This easy to use computer program is available on the internet You can access this web version with a computer or mobile phone at the website shown on the screen Here are just some important points to remember Critical stages for application of nitrogen are tillering about 24 to 30 days after transplanting or direct seeding depending on the growth duration of the variety and Panicle Initiation about 60 days before harvest Additional potassium might be needed at Panicle Initiation when organic materials and straw are not applied High yielding yields are expected to be greater than about 150 sacks or caverns of fresh palai per hectare When growing hybrid rice under high yielding conditions of more than 150 caverns or sacks of fresh palai per hectare you can consider applying one bag of urea per hectare at Heading Stage when rice plants are yellowish and climate is favorable for high yield See, I told you proper nutrition for healthy rice plants is simple as ABC Just always remember A. Acquaint yourself with important nutrients needed by the rice plant B. Become familiar with the critical growth stages of the rice plant C. Check your fertilizer application at tillering and Panicle Initiation Will we meet again? Take care!