Organic Acid Effects on Nutrient Uptake by Rice

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the responses of 20 rice cultivars to the phytotoxic effects of acetic, propionic, and butyric acids produced in soils under anaerobic conditions. The study was conducted in a hydroponic system, with four levels (0, 3, 6, and 9 mM) of the three organic acids in the ratio of 6: 3: 1 in a factorial of complete randomized block design with three replications. The evaluated variables were phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents. The analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction, and the established regressions showed differences among the genotypes as evaluated for both variables. Four genotypes were classified as tolerant in relation to P content and three genotypes as tolerant in relation to K. The best performance was verified with japonica genotypes and the irrigation-based growing system.