13779 10.30848/PJB2026-10(3) <p> Raising rice productivity and enhancing water deficit tolerance</p> Hasnaa Ghazy, Ismail El-Refaee, Omnia Elshayb, Amira Okasha, Hanan Taha, Abdelfatah Gharieb, Afrah Mohammed, Wafaa Sorour, Mohamed Helal and Fahad Alzuaibr <p style="text-align: justify;"> Achieving sustainable rice cultivation requires an understanding of the intricate interactions between fertilizer application and water stress. This study looks at how different irrigation schedules, nitrogen fertilization rates, and potassium silicate supplements affect the Sakha 108 rice cultivar&#39;s growth characteristics, grain yield, and water usage efficiency. The experiment used a strip plot design with three duplicates. Four different irrigation regimes were used in the vertical plots: continuous flooding (W₁), irrigation at soil depths of 10 cm (W₂), 15 cm (W₃), and 20 cm (W₄) below the surface, and irrigation at a depth of 15 cm (W₃). The horizontal representing fertilization nine treatments were established: control (T₁), 55 kg N/ha (T₂), 55 kg N/ha +Si (T₃), 110 kg N/ha (T₄), 110 kg N/ha +Si (T₅), 165 kg N/ha (T₆), 165 kg N/ha + Si (T₇), 220 kg N/ha (T₈), and 220 kg N/ha +Si (T₉). In contrast to the water-stressed treatment (W₄), the study found a substantial positive association between growth, grain production, and its constituent parts under well-watered circumstances (W₁ and W₂). Furthermore, when compared to the other fertilization treatments, T₇ and T₉ produced better growth and grain yield. Unsurprisingly, W₄ utilized the least amount of irrigation water, whilst W₁ required the most. These results suggest that T₇ fertilization and W₁ irrigation work best together. However, when water was scarce, the best way to achieve the Sakha 108 rice cultivar&#39;s ideal growth, yield, grain quality, and water productivity was to apply W₃ irrigation and T₉ fertilization together</p> Published 2026 58 10 2105 2115