Effect of Nitrogen Rates, Biofertilizers and Foliar Urea Application on Yield and Yield Components of Maize (Zea mays, L.)

Abstract

Two field experiments were conducted at Bahteem region, Kalubiah Governorate during 2011 and 2012 seasons, to study the effect of three nitrogen rates (40, 60, and 80 kg/fed), biofertilizers (control, without biofertilizer application and Azotobacter + Azospirillum) and foliar spraying with four urea concentrations (0,1.5,2.5 and 3.5%) as well as their interactions on yield and yield components of maize (single cross 30 K8). Results indicated that nitrogen fertilizer rates significantly affected on ear length, number of grains/ears, 100-grain weight and grain yield/fed. in the two seasons. Nitrogen at the rate of 80kg/fed. gave the highest values for all studied traits. Also, results showed that the difference between biofertilizer treatments were significant for all studied traits in the two seasons. Inoculation maize seed with Azotobacter + Azospirillum gave the maximum values for all studied attributes in both seasons compared with the control. In the same trend, results indicated that the differences between urea foliar spraying treatments were significant for all studied traits in the two seasons. Foliar maize plants with 3.5 % concentration gave the highest values for all studied traits compared with other treatments in both seasons. The interactions between nitrogen rates x biofertilizers x foliar treatments with urea were significant for all studied attributes in the two seasons. The results showed that foliar maize plants with 3.5 % urea concentration and inoculation with Azotobacter + Azospirillum as well as fertilized with 80 kg N/fed. gave the highest values for the yield and yield components.

Melatonin Attenuates the Urea-Induced Yields Improvement Through Remodeling Transcriptome and Rhizosphere Microbial Community Structure in Soybean

“…For legume crops, foliar application could reduce the inhibition role of nitrogen to root nodule development and symbiotic nitrogen fixation ( Lin et al, 2018 ; Nishida et al, 2018 ). Thus, foliar application of nitrogen fertilizer has become more popular, and the physiological effects of foliar urea application on crop plants have been explored extensively in recent years ( Hassanein et al, 2019 ; Cassim et al, 2020 ; Lyu et al, 2021 ). In wheat, foliar urea application altered storage protein distribution of grain by promoting the expression of the majority of storage protein-encoding genes ( Rossmann et al, 2019 ), but the global transcriptional profile of soybean after foliar urea application has rarely been reported.…”

Effect of different planting pattern arrangements on soil organic matter and soil nitrogen content under a maize/soybean strip relay intercropping system

“…The world’s population is increasing rapidly; therefore, it must produce more from the limited arable land to meet the needs of the growing population ( Altieri, 1999 ; Fan et al., 2012 ). Strengthening the utilization of chemical fertilizers is an essential step in obtaining bumper crop yields ( Hassanein et al., 2019 ; Mohamed et al., 2020 ); nevertheless, the indiscriminate use of fertilizers has led to increased soil nutrient imbalance in various regions of the world, notably many Asian countries ( Zhou et al., 2017 ; Wang et al., 2020 ). In economically developed areas of China, a markedly disproportionate dose of fertilizers is being administered, i.e., averaging 339 kg/hm 2 , which is 1.29 times higher than the national average of 262 kg/hm 2 ; however, in underdeveloped areas, the fertilization rate is only 178 kg/hm 2 ( Cho, 2007 ; Zhang and Zhang, 2008 ; Zhang et al., 2013 ).…”