FIELD TRIAL ON THE EFFECTS OF SEEDLING AGE, YIELD AND ECONOMIC RETURNS OF SAHEL 134 UNDER LOWLAND IRRIGATED ECOLOGY

In the Sahel and West Africa, the yields of rice are marginally low and other parts of the world, mainly attributed to soil-related constraints such as poor soil fertility, salinity, water management, poor land development and inadequate adherence to best agronomic practices. The objective of the research was to evaluate the growth, yield and economic returns of Sahel 134 rice variety in low land irrigated rice ecology. The research was conducted using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four (4) treatments 2, 3, 4,5 and control treatment.The data collected were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that percentage of ripened grains in the 2and 5-weeks old seedling age is significantly higher of 80%than 2 weeks andcontrol of 69% at 3 weeks old. The Sahel 134 exhibited highest paddy yield from 3 weeks of 12.27 t/ha and obtained 13.02 t/ha at 5 weeks while lowest yield scored was 9.82t/ha at 2 weeks respectively. The result shows that, with the production cost of D75,550 per hectare and the selling price of D20/kg.Furthermore, the results indicate that, at 5 weeks seedling performed optimally with significant improvement on yield and economic returns.In conclusion, at 5 weeks of seedling age enhances productivity and profitability of Sahel 134 rice variety with optimal economic returns. The research finding reveals implication to policy makers, researchers and rice farmers in their quest to improve on rice production, productivity and economic returns.