Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2025)

Enhancing growth, yield and nutrient use efficiency in hybrid maize through integrated nutrient and weed management strategies

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.7082
Submitted
5 January 2025
Published
25-06-2025 — Updated on 01-07-2025
Versions

Abstract

Maize is a nutrient-demanding crop and weed competition during the critical growth stages can result in yield losses ranging from 28 to 100 %. Addressing this issue requires research focused on integrating innovative agronomic strategies. Therefore, 2 years (kharif 2020 and 2021) field experiments were conducted with different nutrient and weed management strategies to investigate their combined effect on maize. Nutrient management strategies (M) were included as main-plots, whereas weed management strategies (S) in sub-plots under split-plot design with 3 replications. The findings indicated that application of 187.5 kg N from urea + 62.5 kg N supplementation from press mud + ZnSO4 at 37.5 kg/ha increased the uptake of N (by 35.56 %), P (27.36 %), K (33.84 %) and Zn (52.18 %), apparent N recovery (66.35 %) and grain yield (43.97 %) over the application of 250 kg N from urea. Similarly, hand hoeing at 15 and 30 days after sowing (DAS) had increased grain yield by 81.53 %, favoured by higher nutrient uptake and growth. Further, application of 187.5 kg N from urea + 62.5 kg N from press mud + ZnSO4 at 37.5 kg/ha in conjugation with hand hoeing at 15 and 30 DAS recorded the highest grain (7160 and 7490 kg/ha) and stover (10870 and 11620 kg/ha) yields during both the years. Subsequently, it was accompanied by application of 187.5 kg N from urea + 62.5 kg N from press mud + ZnSO4 at 37.5 kg/ha combined with pre-emergence (PE) application of atrazine at 1.0 kg a.i./ha at 3 DAS + post-emergence (PoE) application of topramezone at 25.2 g a.i./ha at 18 DAS with the highest net returns and benefit-cost ratio. Therefore, integrated urea (187.5 kg N) + press mud (62.5 kg N) + ZnSO4 (37.5 kg/ha) application with PE atrazine (1.0 kg a.i./ha at 3 DAS) + PoE topramezone (25.2 g a.i./ha at 18 DAS) as a weed management strategy could improve maize yield with higher economic viability.

References

  1. 1. USDA. World agricultural production. United States Department of Agriculture; 2020; p. 20. Available from: https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/production.pdf
  2. 2. Yeshiwas Y. Effect of different rates of nitrogen fertilizer on the growth and yield of cabbage (Brassica oleraceae) at Debre Markos, North West Ethiopia. Afr J Plant Sci. 2017;11(7):276–81. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJPS2015.1330
  3. 3. Gao F, Khan R, Yang L, Chi YX, Wang Y, Zhou XB. Uncovering the potentials of long-term straw return and nitrogen supply on subtropical maize (Zea mays L.) photosynthesis and grain yield. Field Crops Res. 2023;302:109062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2023.109062
  4. 4. Singh MV, Kumar N, Srivastava RK. Effect of nitrogen and its scheduling on growth, yield and economics of rabi maize (Zea mays L). Ann Plant Soil Res. 2017;19(3):307–10.
  5. 5. Bharathy AD, Maragatham S, Santhi R, Davamani V, Balachandar D, Ramesh D. Sustainable maize production by organic amendments: evaluating growth performance and environmental impact. Plant Sci Today. 2024;11(sp4):1–8. https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.5715
  6. 6. Halli HM, Govindasamy P, Choudhary M, Srinivasan R, Prasad M, Wasnik VK, et al. Range grasses to improve soil properties, carbon sustainability and fodder security in degraded lands of semi-arid regions. Sci Total Environ. 2022;851:158211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158211
  7. 7. Venkatakrishnan D, Rajkumar K, Elayaraja D, Manivannan R, Senthilvalavan P, Manimaran S, et al. Effect of nutrient management on yield and uptake of maize. Plant Arch. 2020;2(2):4544–46.
  8. 8. Suganya A, Saravanan A, Manivannan N. Role of zinc nutrition for increasing zinc availability, uptake, yield and quality of maize (Zea mays L.) grains: An overview. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal. 2020;51(15):2001–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2020.1820030
  9. 9. Cakmak I. Enrichment of cereal grains with zinc: agronomic or genetic biofortification?. Plant Soil, 2008;302:1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104–007–9466–3
  10. 10. Praharaj S, Skalicky M, Maitra S, Bhadra P, Shankar T, Brestic M, et al. Zinc biofortification in food crops could alleviate zinc malnutrition in human health. Mol. 2021;26(12):3509. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26123509
  11. 11. Ravi N, Basavarajappa R, Chandrashekar CP, Harlapur SI, Hosamani MH, Manjunatha MV. Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield of quality protein maize. Karnataka J Agric Sci. 2012;25:395–96. https://doi.org/10.5555/20123349811
  12. 12. Saboor A, Ali MA, Hussain S, El Enshasy HA, Hussain S, Ahmed N, et al. Zinc nutrition and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis effects on maize (Zea mays L.) growth and productivity. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021;28(11):6339–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.06.096
  13. 13. Das A, Kumar M, Ramkrushna GI, Patel DP, Layek J, Panwar AS, Ngachan SV. Weed management in maize under rainfed organic farming system. Indian J Weed Sci, 2016;48:168–72. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-8164.2016.00042.3
  14. 14. Kumar B, Prasad S, Mandal D, Kumar R. Influence of integrated weed management strategies on weed dynamics, productivity and nutrient uptake of rabi maize (Zea mays L.). Int Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 2017;6(4):1431–40. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.604.175
  15. 15. Sreelatha D, Swarnalatha V, Ramprakash T, Reddy ML. Evaluation of new post-emergence herbicides in rainfed maize. Maize J. 2020;9:50–55.
  16. 16. Pavithra G, Velayutham A, Shanmugam PM, Boominathan P, Bharathi C. Effect of Non-chemical weed management strategies on weed dynamics and yield in blackgram (Vigna mungo). Int J Plant Soil Sci. 2023;35(18):1666–73. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijpss/2023/v35i183442
  17. 17. Thambiyannan S, Lingan R, Ramasamy S, Ramasamy K, Rajendhiran N, Kaliyannagounder S, et al. Sustainable integrated weed control strategies to reduce herbicide use in sunflower production. Plant Sci Today. 2024;11(4):570–79. https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.4833
  18. 18. Manibharathi S. Herbicide resistance and its management strategies- A review. Madras Agric J. 2023;110(7–9):1. https://doi.org/10.29321/MAJ.10.200905
  19. 19. Gaurav SK, Verma SK, Meena RS, Maurya AC, Kumar S. Nutrient uptake and available nutrients status in soil as influenced by sowing methods and herbicides in kharif maize (Zea mays L.). Int J Agric Environ Biotechnol. 2018;11(1):17–24. https://doi.org/10.30954/0974–1712.2018.00178.2
  20. 20. Lavanya Y, Srinivasan K, Chinnamuthu C, Arthanari PM, Shanmugasundaram S, Chandrasekhar C. Effect of weed control methods on growth and yield of maize in western zone of Tamil Nadu. Int J Chem Stud. 2021;9:122–25. https://doi.org/10.22271/chemi.2021.v9.i1c.11474
  21. 21. Mani VS, Malla ML, Gautam KC, Bhagwandas B. Weed killing chemicals in potato cultivation. Indian Farm. 1973;23(8):17–18.
  22. 22. Mishra A, Tosh GC. Chemical weed control studies on dwarf wheat. J Res (OUAST). 1979;10:1–6.
  23. 23. Mishra M, Misra A. Estimation of integrated pest management index in jute- A new approach. Indian J Weed Sci. 1997;29(1–2):39–42.
  24. 24. Krishnamurthy K, Raju BG, Raghunath G, Jagnath MK, Prasad TVR. Herbicide efficiency index in sorghum. Indian J Weed Sci. 1975;7(2):75–79.
  25. 25. Yoshida S, Farno DA, Cook JH, Gomez KA. Laboratory manual for physiological studies of rice. 3rd ed. Philippines: IRRI; 1976. p.70–76.
  26. 26. Jackson ML. Soil chemical analysis. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Ltd.; 1973.
  27. 27. Standfold S, English L. Use of flame photometer in rapid soil test for K and Ca. Agron J. 1949;41:446–47. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1949.00021962004100090012x
  28. 28. Yoshida S. Fundamentals of rice crop science. Los Banos, Philippines: IRRI; 1981. p. 260.
  29. 29. Pillai KG, Vamadevan VK. Studies on an integrated nutrient supply system for rice. Fertilizer News. 1978;23:11–14.
  30. 30. Cassman KG, Gines GC, Dizon MA, Samson MI, Alcantara JM. Nitrogen-use efficiency in tropical lowland rice systems: contributions from indigenous and applied nitrogen. Field Crops Res. 1996;47(1):1–2. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378–4290(95)00101–8
  31. 31. Subbiah BV, Asija GL. A rapid procedure for the estimation of available nitrogen in soils.. Curr Sci. 1956;25:259–60.
  32. 32. Olsen SR, Cole CV, Watanabe FS, Dean LA. Estimation of available phosphorus by extraction with sodium bicarbonate (Circular 39). Washington, DC: USDA. 1954. p. 1–19.
  33. 33. Gopinath PP, Parsad R, Joseph B, Adarsh VS. Grapes Agri1: collection of shiny apps for data analysis in agriculture. J Open Source Softw. 2021;6(63):3437. https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.03437
  34. 34. Dotaniya ML, Aparna K, Dotaniya CK, Singh M, Regar KL. Role of soil enzymes in sustainable crop production. In: Kuddus M, editor. Enzymes in food biotechnology. Academic Press; 2019. p. 569–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978–0–12–813280–7.00033–5
  35. 35. Suma MM, Sathish A. Effect of different sugar industry solid waste on growth, yield and nutrient uptake by maize. Int J Chem Stud. 2018;6:2244–48.
  36. 36. Patil S, Adyant K, Mritunjay K, Anup K, Hansraj H. Efficacy of herbicides and their combination in Cyperus-dominated rabi maize (Zea mays L.). Int Q J Life Sci. 2017;12(1):533–37.
  37. 37. Kumar SS, Baradhan G, Saravanan V, Sudhakar P, Manimaran S. Influence of different granular organic manures with inorganic fertilizers for increasing the yield of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.). Plant Arch. 2019;20:2515–19.
  38. 38. Muhammad D, Khattak RA. Growth and nutrient concentration of maize in press mud treated saline-sodic soils. Soil Environ. 2009;28(2):145–55.
  39. 39. Asif M, Rehman B, Javaid MM, Aziz A, Akhtar N, Safdar E. Integrated use of organic and synthetic fertilizers improves soil functioning, growth, yield and quality attributes of maize. Int J Appl Exp Biol. 2024;3(2):199–206. https://doi.org/10.56612/ijaaeb.v1i1.83
  40. 40. Halli HM, Shivakumar B, Wasnik V, Govindasamy P, Yadav V, Swami S, et al. Co-implementation of deficit irrigation and nutrient management strategies to strengthen soil-plant-seed nexus, water use efficiency and yield sustainability in fodder corn. Eur J Agron. 2025;168:127609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2025.127609
  41. 41. Govindasamy P, Muthusamy SK, Bagavathiannan M, Mowrer J, Jagannadham PT, Maity A, et al. Nitrogen use efficiency-a key to enhance crop productivity under a changing climate. Front Plant Sci. 2023;14:1121073. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1121073
  42. 42. Liu P, Guo X, Zhou D, Zhang Q, Ren X, Wang R, et al. Quantify the effect of manure fertilizer addition and optimal nitrogen input on rainfed wheat yield and nitrogen requirement using the nitrogen nutrition index. Agric Ecosyst Environ. 2023;345:108319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.108319
  43. 43. Irmak S, Mohammed AT. Maize nitrogen uptake and use efficiency, partial factor productivity of nitrogen and yield response to different nitrogen and water applications under three irrigation methods. Irrig Drain. 2024;73(1):64–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2868
  44. 44. Halli HM, Angadi S, Govindasamy P, Madar R, Sannagoudar MS, El–Sabrout AM, et al. Integrated effect of deficit irrigation and sowing methods on weed dynamics and system productivity of maize-cowpea sequence on vertisols. Agron. 2021;11(4):808. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040808
  45. 45. Halli HM, Angadi S, Kumar A, Govindasamy P, Madar R, El-Ansary DO, et al. Influence of planting and irrigation levels as physical methods on maize root morphological traits, grain yield and water productivity in semi-arid region. Agron. 2021;11(2):294. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11020294
  46. 46. Barad B, Mathukia RK, Gohil BS, Chhodavadia SK. Integrated weed management in Rabi popcorn (Zea mays var. everta). J Crop Weed. 2016;12:150–53.
  47. 47. Tana T, Dalga D, Sharma JJ. Effect of weed management methods and nitrogen fertilizer rates on grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in southern Ethiopia. East Afr J Sci. 2015;9(1):15–30. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/eajsci/article/view/140474
  48. 48. Ghosh D, Brahmachari K, Brestic M, Ondrisik P, Hossain A, Skalicky M, et al. Integrated weed and nutrient management improves yield, nutrient uptake and economics of maize in the rice-maize cropping system of Eastern India. Agron. 2020;10(12):1906. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10121906

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.