Effect of tillage and nitrogen levels on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.)

摘要

A study was conducted with maize during kharif 2002 in Amritsar, Punjab, India, involving 3 levels of tillage, i.e. zero tillage (by using no-till drill), minimum tillage (one ploughing followed by one planking), and conventional tillage, and 5 nitrogen levels (0, 80, 100, 120 and 140 kg/ha). Data on different levels of tillage did not indicate any significant difference for growth, yield-attributing characters, grain yield, stover yield and harvest index. The highest grain yield of 39.5 q/ha was recorded in the conventional tillage, which was only numerically different to the other treatments. The cost of cultivation was less in the no tillage compared to the other tillage treatments. All the growth and yield attributes were greatly influenced by the nitrogen levels. Application of 80, 100, 120 and 140 kg N/ha recorded grain yield of 36, 14, 41.08, 43.36 and 44.36 q/ha, respectively, but the difference between 120 and 140 kg N/ha was not significant. All the nitrogen treatments gave significantly higher stover yield than 0 kg N/ha.