Response of kharif maize (Zea mays L.) to differential placement of fertilizer doses and potassium splitting
Loading...
Date
2019-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand)
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted during the kharif season 2016 and 2017 at the Norman E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar to examine the effect of differential fertilizer placement, potassium
splitting and nutrient doses on maize. The experiment consisting of two K split (100% as basal and 50% as basal + 50% at earthing up), eight nutrient doses (75-75-75, 75-75-100,75-100-75, 75-100-100, 100-75-75,100-75-100, 100-100-75 and 100-100-100 per cent of recommended NPK) under differential fertilizer placement depths (50% fertilizers at 10-12 cm and 50% in furrows at 5 cm depth) along with a farmers’ practice treatment (100% recommended NPK dose and furrow application of fertilizers at 5 cm with whole K as basal) was laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications. The recommended dose of nutrients was 150:60:40 kg N:P2O5:K2O/ha. Planting geometry was 75 cm × 20 cm and crop was grown as per recommended practices. The soil of the experiment site was silty clay loam in texture having medium organic carbon (0.71%), low available nitrogen (234.9 kg/ha) and medium available P (20.7 kg/ha) and K (212.4 kg/ha) contents with neutral pH (7.2). Split application of K had significant impact on growth parameters, yield attributes and yield over its 100% basal application. It resulted in 6.1 and 4.7 per cent increase in grain yield over 100% basal application during 2016 and 2017, respectively. Application of K in splits also fetched higher gross return, net return and B:C ratio than its basal application. Application of 100% NPK being on par with all the nutrient doses in which 100% N was used with either 75 or 100% P and K, produced significantly more growth parameters and yields than the lower doses.
Average increment in grain and stover yields under 100% NPK dose was 40.6 and 33.1, respectively over 75% NPK. Economics of cultivation viz. gross return, net return and B:C ratio were also found significantly higher under 100% recommended NPK dose which was at par with 100% N +75% PK, 100% NK+ 75% P and 100% NP+ 75% K. Crop performance in terms of growth, yield attributes and yield was also found significantly higher under differential fertilizer placement with and without K split application than farmers’ practice. Research findings of this study revealed that splitting of potassium in two equal parts i.e. 50% basal and 50% at earthing up in kharif maize is the better option against its whole application in basal in terms of productivity, profitability and nutrient use efficiency under silty clay loam soils of Pantnagar. Differential placement of fertilizers (50% in root zone at 10-12 cm
and 50% in seed zone in furrows at 5 cm) can help in saving of 25% recommend dose of P and K.