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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. 4 (2025)

Response of three maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars to foliar application of Al-Nahrain liquid fertilizer

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.10826
Submitted
22 July 2025
Published
30-10-2025 — Updated on 11-11-2025
Versions

Abstract

A factorial experiment was conducted during the 2023-2024 growing season in the Abi Gharaq region, Babylon province to evaluate the response of three maize cultivars to foliar spray with liquid fertilizer of Al-Nahrain. The experiment was designed using randomized complete block design (RCBD) in a factorial arrangement at three replications. The study contained two factors: the first factor included three concentrations of Al-Nahrain liquid fertilizer (0, 3 and 6 mL L-1), represented as T0, T1 and T2. The second factor involved three maize cultivars: IPA 5012, Buhooth 106 and Fajr, represented as F1, F2 and F3. The results demonstrated that the cultivar IPA 5012 (F1) outperformed the other cultivars in most of the studied traits, including ear length, rows number per ear, grains number per row and total grains number per ear. On the other hand, the Fajr cultivar (F3) recorded the highest mean for 500 grain weight, reaching 107.33 g. Regarding the fertilizer concentrations, the foliar application of 6 mL L-1 (T2) excelled in all the studied traits, including ear length, rows number per ear, grains number per row, total number of grains per ear and 500 grain weight. The combination F3×T2 achieved the highest averages for ear length (20.69 cm) and 500-grain weight (112.10 g). F1×T2 combination recorded the maximum averages for the grains number per row (40.04 grains row-1) and total grains number per ear (471.10 grains ear-1). F2×T2 combination resulted in the maximum value for the rows number per ear, reaching 16.8 rows ear-1.

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