The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), in joint research with Sangyo Shinko Co., Ltd., has demonstrated that adding converter slag fertilizer to the soaking solution for rice seeds shortens germination time, promotes root elongation, and improves seedling emergence. Furthermore, this method eliminates the need to replace the soaking water—normally done to prevent poor germination and low seedling emergence caused by oxygen deficiency—and also allows the omission of germination forcing (promoting seed sprouting). For practical applications, further studies are needed under on-farm conditions for seedling and direct-seeded rice cultivation. This approach is expected to reduce the time and labor required for pre-sowing seed preparation.
Overview
Converter slag, a by-product generated during the converter process in steel making, has long been utilized in agriculture as a source of silicon, iron, and trace elements, as well as a soil amendment to neutralize acidic soils through its alkalinity and suppress soil-borne plant diseases. However, its application in raising rice seedlings has not been previously reported.
In this study, NARO, in collaboration with Sangyo Shinko Co., Ltd., discovered that adding powdered converter slag fertilizer to the soaking solution promotes the early growth of rice. When rice seeds were treated with a soaking solution containing the converter slag fertilizer, faster germination and root elongation were observed compared with the conventional soaking process. This process resulted in higher seedling emergence without the germination forcing step usually done to prevent poor germination and low seedling emergence. The enhancement of early growth contributes to more uniform and stable germination and subsequent seedling development, which is expected to shorten the period for raising seedlings and improve germination and seedling establishment in direct-seeded rice cultivation.
These findings were obtained under experimental conditions using the rice cultivar "Kinuhikari." Further studies are required to clarify applicability to other cultivars and evaluate practicality under on-farm conditions for seedling and direct-seeded rice cultivation. Establishing optimal treatment conditions and developing standardized protocols are expected to enable the use of converter slag fertilizer to reduce the time and labor required for rice seed pre-sowing preparation.
Related Information
Budget: This research was supported by Sangyo Shinko Co., Ltd. Patent: Japanese Patent No. 7674003, "Growth Promotion Method and Growth Promoter"
