Abstract

B.H. Adhikary, B.R. Baral, J. Shresthaand R. Adhikary

In order to investigate the effects of different rates of fertilizers (NPK and farmyard manures) on grain yield and yield attributing traits of different maize cultivars, field experiments were conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications at Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal during winter seasons of 2009/10 and 2010/011. Five levels of fertilization; Control (zero fertilizer), Farm yard manure (FYM) 10 t/ha, 60:30:20 N, P2O5 and K2O plus FYM 10 t/ha, 120: 60: 40 N, P2O5 and K2O plus FYM 10 t/ha, 180: 90: 60 N, P2O5 and K2O kg/ha plus FYM 10 t/ha and 120: 60: 40 N, P2O5 and K2O kg/ha) applied to four maize varieties (Rampur Composite, Manakamana-4, Across9942 x Across 9944 and S99TLYQ-B) in the experiment. Grain yield was non significant for varieties but the fertilization rates were highly significant for grain yield. Rampur Composite produced the highest grain yield (5195 kg/ha), followed by Manakamana-4 (5074 kg/ha) and Across9942 x Across9944 (5052 kg/ha) with application of NPK 180: 90: 60 kg/ha plus FYM 10 t/ha. Similarly, S99TLYQ-B produced the highest grain yield (4789 kg/ha) under the same level of fertilization. This information obtained through this study might be useful in generating suitable fertilization packages for higher grain yield of maize cultivars.