The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland

Navo Yambasu; Richard Andrew Cooke; Mohamed Matthew Blango; Alieu Mohamed Bah

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12

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The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland

Navo Yambasu, Richard Andrew Cooke, Mohamed Matthew Blango^*

, Alieu Mohamed Bah

Published in International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences (Volume 12, Issue 5)

Received: 13 August 2026 Accepted: 24 August 2026 Published: 20 September 2026

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Abstract

The study was conducted in a riverine grassland along the river Taia/Jong, Njala university, Southern Sierra Leone. It was undertaken with the aim of investigating the performance of three submergence-tolerant rice varieties at different elevation zones in a Riverine grassland. The experimental design had two factors (three rice varieties and six elevation zones) arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in each of two blocks. The rice varieties were Indochine Blanc (Deepwater Floating Rice), FARO 66 and FARO 67 respectively. Yield responses to submergence depth were non-linear and variety?specific: FARO 66 and FARO 67 peaked at intermediate depths (76–143 cm), while Indochine Blanc shows a flatter, lower response with slight improvement under deep water. The study concluded that the strong variety?by?submergence interaction (p < 0.05) revealed that flooding did not act as a blanket constraint, but rather as a filter that distinguished genotypes by their tolerance capacity. While the FARO varieties generally performed best at 143 cm, these average trends were conditional on statistical context. For growers in flood?variable environments, the path to optimal yield lay in deliberately pairing water-depth management with the natural submergence?tolerance strengths of the chosen rice variety. FARO 66 is recommended for areas with stable shallow to medium flooding (up to 150 cm), while FARO 67 is preferable where water levels fluctuate frequently. Indochine Blanc is not suitable for commercial production under the tested conditions due to consistently low yields.

Published in	International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences (Volume 12, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12
Page(s)	181-192
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Submergence Variety, FARO 66, FARO 67, Deepwater Floating Rice

References

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APA Style

Yambasu, N., Cooke, R. A., Blango, M. M., Bah, A. M. (2026). The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland. International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences, 12(5), 181-192. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12

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ACS Style

Yambasu, N.; Cooke, R. A.; Blango, M. M.; Bah, A. M. The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland. Int. J. Appl. Agric. Sci. 2026, 12(5), 181-192. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12

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AMA Style

Yambasu N, Cooke RA, Blango MM, Bah AM. The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland. Int J Appl Agric Sci. 2026;12(5):181-192. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12,
  author = {Navo Yambasu and Richard Andrew Cooke and Mohamed Matthew Blango and Alieu Mohamed Bah},
  title = {The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences},
  volume = {12},
  number = {5},
  pages = {181-192},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaas.20261205.12},
  abstract = {The study was conducted in a riverine grassland along the river Taia/Jong, Njala university, Southern Sierra Leone. It was undertaken with the aim of investigating the performance of three submergence-tolerant rice varieties at different elevation zones in a Riverine grassland. The experimental design had two factors (three rice varieties and six elevation zones) arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in each of two blocks. The rice varieties were Indochine Blanc (Deepwater Floating Rice), FARO 66 and FARO 67 respectively. Yield responses to submergence depth were non-linear and variety?specific: FARO 66 and FARO 67 peaked at intermediate depths (76–143 cm), while Indochine Blanc shows a flatter, lower response with slight improvement under deep water. The study concluded that the strong variety?by?submergence interaction (p < 0.05) revealed that flooding did not act as a blanket constraint, but rather as a filter that distinguished genotypes by their tolerance capacity. While the FARO varieties generally performed best at 143 cm, these average trends were conditional on statistical context. For growers in flood?variable environments, the path to optimal yield lay in deliberately pairing water-depth management with the natural submergence?tolerance strengths of the chosen rice variety. FARO 66 is recommended for areas with stable shallow to medium flooding (up to 150 cm), while FARO 67 is preferable where water levels fluctuate frequently. Indochine Blanc is not suitable for commercial production under the tested conditions due to consistently low yields.},
 year = {2026}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland
AU  - Navo Yambasu
AU  - Richard Andrew Cooke
AU  - Mohamed Matthew Blango
AU  - Alieu Mohamed Bah
Y1  - 2026/09/20
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12
T2  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
SP  - 181
EP  - 192
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2469-7885
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12
AB  - The study was conducted in a riverine grassland along the river Taia/Jong, Njala university, Southern Sierra Leone. It was undertaken with the aim of investigating the performance of three submergence-tolerant rice varieties at different elevation zones in a Riverine grassland. The experimental design had two factors (three rice varieties and six elevation zones) arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in each of two blocks. The rice varieties were Indochine Blanc (Deepwater Floating Rice), FARO 66 and FARO 67 respectively. Yield responses to submergence depth were non-linear and variety?specific: FARO 66 and FARO 67 peaked at intermediate depths (76–143 cm), while Indochine Blanc shows a flatter, lower response with slight improvement under deep water. The study concluded that the strong variety?by?submergence interaction (p < 0.05) revealed that flooding did not act as a blanket constraint, but rather as a filter that distinguished genotypes by their tolerance capacity. While the FARO varieties generally performed best at 143 cm, these average trends were conditional on statistical context. For growers in flood?variable environments, the path to optimal yield lay in deliberately pairing water-depth management with the natural submergence?tolerance strengths of the chosen rice variety. FARO 66 is recommended for areas with stable shallow to medium flooding (up to 150 cm), while FARO 67 is preferable where water levels fluctuate frequently. Indochine Blanc is not suitable for commercial production under the tested conditions due to consistently low yields.
VL  - 12
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Navo Yambasu

Department of Agricultural Engineering, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone

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Richard Andrew Cooke

Department of Agricultural Engineering, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone

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Mohamed Matthew Blango

Department of Agricultural Engineering, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone

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http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3302-5645
Alieu Mohamed Bah

Department of Crop Science, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone

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APA Style

Yambasu, N., Cooke, R. A., Blango, M. M., Bah, A. M. (2026). The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland. International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences, 12(5), 181-192. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12

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ACS Style

Yambasu, N.; Cooke, R. A.; Blango, M. M.; Bah, A. M. The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland. Int. J. Appl. Agric. Sci. 2026, 12(5), 181-192. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12

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AMA Style

Yambasu N, Cooke RA, Blango MM, Bah AM. The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland. Int J Appl Agric Sci. 2026;12(5):181-192. doi: 10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12,
  author = {Navo Yambasu and Richard Andrew Cooke and Mohamed Matthew Blango and Alieu Mohamed Bah},
  title = {The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland},
  journal = {International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences},
  volume = {12},
  number = {5},
  pages = {181-192},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijaas.20261205.12},
  abstract = {The study was conducted in a riverine grassland along the river Taia/Jong, Njala university, Southern Sierra Leone. It was undertaken with the aim of investigating the performance of three submergence-tolerant rice varieties at different elevation zones in a Riverine grassland. The experimental design had two factors (three rice varieties and six elevation zones) arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in each of two blocks. The rice varieties were Indochine Blanc (Deepwater Floating Rice), FARO 66 and FARO 67 respectively. Yield responses to submergence depth were non-linear and variety?specific: FARO 66 and FARO 67 peaked at intermediate depths (76–143 cm), while Indochine Blanc shows a flatter, lower response with slight improvement under deep water. The study concluded that the strong variety?by?submergence interaction (p < 0.05) revealed that flooding did not act as a blanket constraint, but rather as a filter that distinguished genotypes by their tolerance capacity. While the FARO varieties generally performed best at 143 cm, these average trends were conditional on statistical context. For growers in flood?variable environments, the path to optimal yield lay in deliberately pairing water-depth management with the natural submergence?tolerance strengths of the chosen rice variety. FARO 66 is recommended for areas with stable shallow to medium flooding (up to 150 cm), while FARO 67 is preferable where water levels fluctuate frequently. Indochine Blanc is not suitable for commercial production under the tested conditions due to consistently low yields.},
 year = {2026}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Performance of Three Submergence-Tolerant Rice Varieties at Different Agro-ecological Submergence Zones in a Riverine Grassland
AU  - Navo Yambasu
AU  - Richard Andrew Cooke
AU  - Mohamed Matthew Blango
AU  - Alieu Mohamed Bah
Y1  - 2026/09/20
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12
T2  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Applied Agricultural Sciences
SP  - 181
EP  - 192
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2469-7885
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaas.20261205.12
AB  - The study was conducted in a riverine grassland along the river Taia/Jong, Njala university, Southern Sierra Leone. It was undertaken with the aim of investigating the performance of three submergence-tolerant rice varieties at different elevation zones in a Riverine grassland. The experimental design had two factors (three rice varieties and six elevation zones) arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in each of two blocks. The rice varieties were Indochine Blanc (Deepwater Floating Rice), FARO 66 and FARO 67 respectively. Yield responses to submergence depth were non-linear and variety?specific: FARO 66 and FARO 67 peaked at intermediate depths (76–143 cm), while Indochine Blanc shows a flatter, lower response with slight improvement under deep water. The study concluded that the strong variety?by?submergence interaction (p < 0.05) revealed that flooding did not act as a blanket constraint, but rather as a filter that distinguished genotypes by their tolerance capacity. While the FARO varieties generally performed best at 143 cm, these average trends were conditional on statistical context. For growers in flood?variable environments, the path to optimal yield lay in deliberately pairing water-depth management with the natural submergence?tolerance strengths of the chosen rice variety. FARO 66 is recommended for areas with stable shallow to medium flooding (up to 150 cm), while FARO 67 is preferable where water levels fluctuate frequently. Indochine Blanc is not suitable for commercial production under the tested conditions due to consistently low yields.
VL  - 12
IS  - 5
ER  -

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