3.2 Plant growth and yield components
Grain yield, straw and root dry weight of Nipponbare
were significantly higher than those of Jiaxing27
(Table 2). Regardless of genotypes, the watersaving
management and Zn fertilization significantly
increased grain yield, straw and root dry weight
(Table 2). The AWD regime significantly increased
grain yield, straw and root dry weight by 11.4%, 11.0%,
and 14.1%, respectively, as compared to those under
the CF regime. For the harvest index, no significant
differences were observed between CF and AWD or
between the two genotypes (Table 2). However, Zn
fertilization significantly increased the harvest index
by 6.23%–10.20%, and the highest harvest index was
observed with ZnSO4 fertilization (Table 2). Plant
growth was significantly impacted by Zn fertilization.
When compared to the control, the grain yield increased
by 29.6% and 19.9% with the ZnSO4 and
Zn-EDTA fertilization, respectively. The straw dry
weight significantly increased by 20.0% and 11.9%
with the ZnSO4 and Zn-EDTA application, respectively.
Root dry weight was significantly increased by
12.10%–21.61%, with more pronounced effects of
ZnSO4 observed as compared with Zn-EDTA.
Panicles per pot for Nipponbare were significantly
higher than that of Jiaxing27 (Table 3). No
significant differences were detected in kernels per
panicle, filled grain or 1000-grain weight between
genotypes, as well as water managements (Table 3).
Zn fertilization significantly increased spikelet per
panicle and grain filling percentage, while showing
no influence on panicle per pot (Table 3).