The study looked at how different ways of managing water and using fertilizer affect the growth of rice plants. They found that the number of tillers, which are important for rice yield, changed depending on the water depth and fertilizer amount. In flooded rice fields, more tillers grew early on with just a little extra fertilizer, while in aerobic rice fields, more fertilizer was needed later on to increase tillers. Simply adding more fertilizer didn't help much in aerobic rice, so new methods are needed to boost tiller growth in those fields.