STUDY ON MORPHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MAIZE UNDER DIFFERENT NUTRIENT LEVEL
Date
2012
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
HAJEE MOHAMMAD DANESH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY, DINAJPUR.
Abstract
The present investigation was undertaken to study the morpho-physiological
characteristics of maize (Zea mays L.) under different nutrient level. Four hybrid maize
varieties viz. NK-40, Pacific-984, 900M and Pinacle were used as study material. The
crop were cultivated under three nutrient level i.e. Nutrient level-1 (Farmer’s fertilizer
management practice), Nutrient level -2 (BARI fertilizer recommendation) and Nutrient
level-3 (Nutrient Manager recommendation based on higher yield). The experiment was
conducted in a two factors Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three
replications. In phenology, the number of days for attaining different growth stages was
affected by different nutrient level and varieties. In Nutrient level-2 condition, the
varieties took longer time to attain their tassel emergence stage, silking stage, cob
initiation stage and maturity stage than the Nutrient level-1 and Nutrient level-3. For
seedling emergence, each variety needed 4 days under all the nutrient level. Under
nutrient level-2 the variety NK-40 took longer time to attain all the phenological stage
followed by 900M and Pacific-984 varieties. Variety Pinacle required the shortest time
for attaining 4-leaf, 8-leaf, 12-leaf, tassel emergence, cob initiation, silking and maturity
stages. Under Nutrient level-2 condition, all the varieties showed higher relative leaf
water content (RLWC) and moisture retention capacity (MRC) compared to Nutrient
level-1 and Nutrient level-3/The combined effect of Nutrient level and maize varieties
differed significantly in the number of green leaf at dry silk stage, length of leaf blade,
length of leaf sheath, length of tassel, plant height, number of cob per plant, cob length,
cob diameter, number of row per cob, grains per cob, single cob weight, weight of grain
per cob, 100 seed weight and grain yield. From the overall result, it was observed that
hybrid variety NK-40 under nutrient level-2 showed best performance in those physiomorphological traits compared to other three varieties (Pacific-984, 900 M and Pinacle)
under different level.
Description
Maize stands in third position among cereal crops in Bangladesh after rice and wheat
(BBS 2009). Normally, it can be cultivated throughout the year in our country. Its
popularity is increasing day by day in Bangladesh because of its multipurpose uses
(Brammer 1997), At present maize is major crop among the cereals of Bangladesh
because of its great production potential and adaptability to wide range of environment.
Besides being a potential source of food for human being, it is used for feeding cattle,
poultry, and industries for the production of starch, syrup, alcohol, acetic acid, lactic acid
etc.
A loamy soil with nearly neutral pH is most suitable for this crop (Singh 1980). Maize
grows well on a fine sandy-loam to heavy clay-loam soil with a moderately acid (pH 5.0)
to’a moderately alkaline (pH 8.5) soils (Islam and Kaul 1986). It is a fast growing crop.
Moderate temperature and optimum supply of water are favorable for its growth,
temperature of about 24 to 30°C and well distributed rainfall of about 800 mm are
sufficient for the growth of maize (Thakur 1980). The major pest and diseases infestation
is less in case of maize compared to other cereals.
Keywords
Role of plant nutrient on maize, Growth and Growth components, Yield and yield attributes, Phenological, morphological and growth parameters