Comparison of direct seeded and transplanted rice in response to zinc under salt-affected soil

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of different levels of Zn (0, 5, 10, 15 kg/ha) on growth and yield of direct seeded and transplanted rice (Oryza sativa) under naturally salt-affected soil having pH=8.32; ECe=6.41dS/m; SAR=26.71 [([mmol.sub.c]/L).sup.1/2] at the farm of Soil Salinity Research Institute, Pindi Bhattian during 2013. Plant height, number of tillers/plant, panicle length and number of grains/panicle were higher in transplanted rice than direct seeded rice at all Zn levels. Maximum paddy yield (2.61 t/ha) of direct seeded rice was attained with the application of 10 kg Zn/ha closely followed by 15 kg Zn/ha application (2.41 t/ha) which was statistical at par with paddy yield (2.45 t/ha) of transplanted rice in salt-affected field. However, overall paddy yield of direct seeded rice was 5 % higher than the transplanted rice. Keywords: direct seeded, transplanted rice, saline soil, Zn