Response of Maize Growth to Phosphorus, Foliar Zinc and its Application Stage
Response of Maize Growth to Phosphorus, Foliar Zinc and its Application Stage
Sajid Ali1*, Shahen Shah2, Muhammad Amin3, Asad Ali Khan2, Sajjad Khan4, Dawood Ahmad5, Faiq Ahmad2, Maaz Khan2, Sikandar Azam1, Siddique Ahmad2 and Bismillah Khan2
ABSTRACT
Phosphorus (P), Zinc (Zn) and its application timing play a very important role in crop productivity. To study its effect on maize, an experiment was conducted at Fodder and Forage Crops Section Harichand, district Charsadda- Pakistan. Two levels of P (90 and 120 kg ha-1) and three levels of Zn (0 i.e., water spray only, 2.5 and 5 kg ha-1) were applied at three application stages (AS) i.e., full at vegetative stage V6 (AS1), full at reproductive stage R2 (AS2) and ½ at V6 and ½ at R2 stage (AS3) along with an overall control were used in the experiment. Randomized complete block design was used with three replications. Most of the studied parameters were significantly affected by P, Zn and AT. Least days to tasseling (54) and silking (55), leaf areaplant-1 (4180 cm2), leaf area index (2.8), plant height (255 cm) and days to harvest maturity (89 were significantly affected when120 kg P ha-1 was applied. Days to tasseling (53), days to silking (55), leaf areaplant-1 (4400 cm2), leaf area index (3.1), plant height (258.6 cm) and days to harvest maturity (89) were significantly affected in plots treated at the rate of 5 kg ha-1 with Zn. In case of application stages (AS), when Zn was applied 1/2 at vegetative and 1/2 at reproductive growth stages significantly enhanced the plant height (260.8 cm). It can be concluded from the study that increases in the rates of P and Zn improved majority of the studied parameters. Similarly, application of Zn, half at vegetative stage (V6) and half at reproductive stage (R2) improved significantly the phenological parameters of maize crop in the agro climatic condition of the study area.
To share on other social networks, click on any share button. What are these?
