Leaf Color Chart for Managing Nitrogen Fertilizer in Lowland Rice in Bangladesh

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer, while essential for high yield and profit in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) farming, is often managed inefficiently by Asian rice farmers. We evaluated the leaf color chart (LCC) as a simple tool for improving the time and rate of N fertilizer use in farmers’ fields with no limitation in water supply in southwestern Bangladesh. Use of the LCC for N management consistently increased grain yield and profit as compared with the farmers’ fertilizer practice across the three wet (Aman) and three dry (Boro) seasons, which each involved 1 to 5 villages and a total of 8 to 36 farmers. Use of the LCC for N management without any other change in the farmers’ fertilizer or crop…