Rice (
Oryza sativa
) variety MR 219
with 90% germination rate was used. This is
the rice variety that is commonly planted by
the farmers throughout Peninsular Malaysia.
Seeds were sown during April 2010 and
October 2010 for the first and second season,
respectively, at a seeding rate of 150 kg ha
-1
.
The seeds were soaked with hormone-based
chemical (Zappa
TM
) for 24 hours. The seeds
were rinsed with tap water and left in the
dark place for 24 hours before sowing in
the field.
Fertilizers were applied in the
experimental plots based on standard
fertilizer rate (120 kg N ha
-1
, 70 kg P
2
O
5
ha
-1
, 80 kg K
2
O ha
-1
) using urea, NPK
Blue (12:12:17+TE) and NPK Green
(15:15:15+TE) as the sources of the
nutrients. Growth enhancers, namely Vita-
grow
TM
and Robust
TM
, were applied 15, 45