PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

The integration of technology and innovative practices has been created to address the adverse effects of synthetic fertilisers on agroecosystems, aiming to pinpoint sustainability constraints and enhance agricultural production systems, particularly in rice farming. This current study aimed to determine the impacts of the combined use of compost powder, ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs), and NPK fertiliser on yield, nutrient use efficiency, and grain yield of paddy. A greenhouse experiment with Randomised Block Design was used to test the effectiveness of nine treatments, namely P0 (no fertiliser), P1 (NPK fertiliser), P2 (300 g compost powder), P3 (P2+ ZnO-NPs 50 mgkg-1 compost), P4 (P2+ZnO-NPs100 mgkg-1 compost), P5 (P2+ ZnO-NPs 150 mgkg-1 compost), P6 (P3+½NPK), P7 (P4+½NPK), P8 (P5+½NPK). Each treatment had five replications. The treatment P7 (compost + ZnO NPs 100 mg kg⁻¹ + ½ NPK) showed higher N, P, K, and Zn uptake than the NPK treatment. Although the differences were not statistically significant, the results indicate comparable nutrient uptake efficiency. This treatment also had higher dry grain weight per hill and per box (80cm × 60cm × 30cm dimension, with six plant samples), potentially of harvested and milled grain weight, than the NPK treatment. The Relative Agronomy Effectiveness of the P7 increased by 12% compared with the NPK treatment. The agronomic efficiency of P4 increased by 72% compared with the NPK treatment. This recent study offered new perspectives on the possibilities of utilising nanoparticles, decreasing the chemical Fertilisers used, and enhancing the efficiency of nutrient use and grain yield for lowland rice cultivation. The findings could be confirmed in field trials.