Vol. 12, Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
Yashwanth PR, Ramachandra C, Gangadhar Eswar Rao G, Kalyanamurthy KN, Krishnamurthy R and Vighnesh

Abstract:
Maize (Zea mays L) is a versatile crop grown throughout the tropical as well as temperate regions of the world round the year. Globally, it is known as “Queen of cereals”. In India, it is cultivated in an area of 9.56 million hectare with a production of 28.76 million tonnes and productivity of 3006 kg ha^-1. A field experiment was conducted at research and demonstration block of Research Institute on Organic Farming, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru during kharif 2022 to study the significance of different sources on growth attributes and yield of maize (Zea mays l.) The experiment consists of 13 treatments laid out in randomized block design and replicated thrice. The experimental results indicated that at harvest, significantly higher plant height (189.94 cm), number of leaves plant^-1 (10.70), leaf area per plant (5634.94 cm² plant^-1) and total dry matter accumulation (138.95 g plant^-1) was noticed in 125% N equivalent compost + jeevamrutha (1000 l ha^-1) + panchagavya (3%) and was on par with 100% N equivalent compost+ jeevamrutha (1000 l ha^-1) + panchagavya (3%). Whereas, lower plant height (92.87 cm), number of leaves plant^-1 (4.65), leaf area per plant (2642.27 cm² plant^-1) and total dry matter accumulation (68.82 g plant^-1) was observed with the application of 75% N equivalent compost. Significantly higher kernel and stover yield of maize were produced with the application of 125% N equivalent compost + jeevamrutha (1000 l ha^-1) + Panchyagavya (3%) (88.59 and 119.87 q ha^-1, respectively) and was on par with 100% N equivalent compost + jeevamrutha (1000 l ha^-1) + panchyagavya (3%) (83.65 and 113.08 q ha^-1, respectively). However, lower kernel and stover yield (58.68 and 74.18 q ha^-1, respectively) was observed in 75% N equivalent compost.