Effect of vermicompost and zinc application on nutrient content and uptake by maize

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur, Rajasthan during 2018 to Effect of vermicompost and zinc application on nutrient content and uptake by maize crop. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design, comprising vermicompost and zinc and their combination, viz., T1 control, T2 vermicompost (1.5 t ha-1) + zinc (0 kg ha-1), T3 vermicompost (1.5 t ha-1) + zinc (2.5 kg ha-1), T4 vermicompost (1.5 t ha-1) + zinc (5.0 kg ha-1), T5 vermicompost (3.0 t ha-1) + zinc (0 kg ha-1), T6 vermicompost (3.0 t ha-1) + zinc (2.5 kg ha-1), T7 vermicompost (3.0 t ha-1) + zinc (5.0 kg ha-1), T8 vermicompost (4.5 t ha-1) + zinc (0 kg ha-1), T9 vermicompost (4.5 t ha-1) + zinc (2.5 kg ha-1), T10 vermicompost (4.5 t ha-1) + zinc (5.0 kg ha-1), treatments replicated three times. The result revealed that the application of vermicompost (4.5 t ha-1) + zinc (5.0 kg ha-1) significantly increased nutrient content in seed such as N (2.069), P (0.346), K (0.496), Zn (59.62), Fe (31.72), Mn (14.74), Cu (31.71) and stover such as N (0.697), P (0.182), K (1.990), Zn (27.140), Fe (212.05), Mn (42.730), Cu (10.260) as compared to control. The application of vermicompost (4.5 t ha-1) + zinc (5.0 kg ha-1) significantly increased nutrient uptake by seed such as N (80.62), P (13.48), K (19.32), Zn (2323.16), Fe (1236.16), Mn (574.32), Cu (1235.53) and stover such as N (37.745), P (9.858), K (107.661), Zn (1472.33), Fe (11484.12), Mn (2315.22), Cu (555.61) as compared to control.