TY - JOUR JO - Environment, Earth and Ecology J2 - Environ. Earth Ecol. SN - 2451-4225 VL - 1 IS - 1 PY - 2017 ID - Banful2017 TI - Growth and yield response of two hybrid rice cultivars to ATONIK plant growth regulator in a Tropical environment AB - A study was conducted at the Department of Horticulture, KNUST, Kumasi from June to November, 2015 with the objectives to (i) determine the rate of ATONIK plant growth regulator (PGR) suitable for high yield of two varieties of hybrid rice (ii) determine the combined effects of PGR rates and varieties on the growth and yield performance of hybrid rice. A 2 x 5 factorial arrangement in randomized complete block design with three replications was used. The factors were varieties at two levels: Agra Rice and Jasmine 85 and PGR at five levels: ATONIK at 450 ml/ha, ATONIK at 500 ml/ha, ATONIK at 550 ml/ha, ATONIK at 0 ml/ha and GA3 at 60 ml/ha. Comparing the ATONIK rates with the GA3, ATONIK at 450 ml/ha resulted in a 14.3 % increase in the number of rice panicles. Application of ATONIK at 450 ml/ha, 500 ml/ha and 550 ml/ha resulted in 14.4%, 10.7% and 4.4% higher percentage of productive tillers, respectively, than that produced by GA3 at 60 ml/ha. ATONIK at 450 ml/ha application led to a 17.8 % increase in grain yield. For the harvest index, application of ATONIK at 450 ml/ha resulted in the highest harvest index of 45 %, significantly greater than the other PGR treatments. In conclusion, the study clearly demonstrated that ATONIK PGR was superior to GA3 in the vegetative and productive performance of rice. The most suitable rate of ATONIK for increased rice productivity was 450 ml/ha. AU - Banful, Ben Kwaku AU - Attivor, Daniel SP - 33 EP - 45 DA - 2017 DO - 10.24051/eee/69223 UR - https://doi.org/10.24051/eee/69223 ER -