Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Productivity in Response to Nitrogen Management in Pakistan
Hameed Gul, Saeedur Rahman, Ali Shahzad, Shareef Gul, Mengya Qian, Qianlin Xiao, Zhizhai Liu
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) plays a vital role in the productivity of maize (Zea mays L). To investigate the fertilizer effects of N on the yield and growth of maize hybrid variety (Gorilla), the experiment was carried out at the research farm of University of Swabi, Pakistan, during summer 2017-18. Four levels of N (Urea, Urea + Farm Yard Manure (FYM), Urea + Compost, Urea + Poultry Manure (PM)) were set in the present study. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used with split-plot arrangement with N administering to main plot. Results showed that yield and other traits, i.e. plant height, ear length, ear weight, kernel yield, kernels ear-1 and harvest index (HI) were significantly affected by Nitrogen. In current study, the maximum performances of plant height (231.46 cm), ear length (12.17 cm), kernels ear-1 (434.83), kernel yield (2095.7 kg·ha-1), total kernel weight (350.75 kg·ha-1), biomass yield (4015.3 kg·ha-1) and HI (37.31) were recorded under the treatment of UREA + PM, and followed by UREA + FYM. Besides, the applications of organic manure in combination with nitrogen significantly increased yield and its components. Application of 50% of N and 50% of poultry manure produced higher performance for the traits of plant height, ear length, kernels ear-1, total kernels weight ear-1, kernel yield, and biomass yield.