Effect of integrated nitrogen management and spacing on growth and yield of fodder maize (Zea mays L.) var. shiats - makka-2

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2017-18 on fodder maize crop (var. SHIATS-Makka 2) at the Crop Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Naini Agricultural Institute, SHUATS, Allahabad (U.P.). The soil of the experimental field was sandy loam with low organic carbon (0.45%) and a soil pH of 7.6. The experiment comprised of three planting geometry viz 40 ×10 cm, 50× 10 cm, 60×10 cm and 2 nitrogen levels i.e. 90 kg N ha-1 and 120 kg N ha-1 respectively, with 18 treatments replicated thrice and laid out in Randomized Block Design. The experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield of fodder maize (Zea mays L.). The result revealed that treatment T17 [120 kg N ha-1 + (50% N through vermicompost + 50%N through urea) + Seed inoculated with Azotobacter + 50x10cm] recorded higher plant height (93.19 cm), dry weight (67.72 g) and green fodder yield (44.56 t ha-1).