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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. sp3 (2025): Advances in Plant Health Improvement for Sustainable Agriculture

Significance of integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) and foliar application practices for enhancing the growth, yield and quality parameters of maize

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.10307
Submitted
27 June 2025
Published
11-12-2025

Abstract

In the Rabi season of 2024, a field experiment was conducted in the village of Ahilandapuram to identify the effects of integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) and foliar nutrition on maize growth, yield and quality parameters. Using maize as the test crop, the experiment was conducted using a randomized block design with 13 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments included the control (T1), 100 % soil test crop response- integrated plant nutrition system (STCR-IPNS) alone, 75 % STCR-IPNS alone and foliar application products: TNAU Maize Maxim, TNAU PPFM, Aloe vera leaf extract and amino acids. The treatment T12, which received 100 % STCR-IPNS along with foliar application of TNAU Maize Maxim, TNAU PPFM, Aloe vera leaf extract and amino acids, recorded the maximum leaf area index. Noticeably, the same treatment (T12) also recorded the best performance in 100-grain weight, cob weight, number of grains per cob and number of grains per row. Interestingly, the same treatment (T12) showed the greatest increase in quality parameters such as crude protein and crude fibre. Based on these findings, the combined use of STCR-IPNS along with a foliar spray of TNAU Maize Maxim + TNAU PPFM+ A. vera leaf extract + amino acid (T12) can be considered one of the most efficient methods for improving the growth, yield and quality characteristics of maize.

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