Influence of lime, phosphorus and boron on performance of maize (Zea mays L.)in acidic soil of Nagaland

Abstract

A pot experiment was conducted in an acidic sandy clay loam soil during the kharif season of 2016 and 2017 to study the performance of maize using two lime levels (0 and ¼ lime of LR), four phosphorus levels (0, 13.4, 26.8 and 40.2 mg P2O5 kg-1) and three boron levels (0, 0.45 and 0.90 mg B kg-1) with maize as test crop. The experiment was designed in complete randomized design with three replications. Results revealed that plant height, number of leaves and leaf area index increased appreciably with the advancement of age of the crop and maximum values were recorded at harvest. Application of ¼ lime of LR increased plant height at harvest, grain and stover yield to the extent of 13.1, 24.6 and 23.0%, respectively over control. Phosphorus and boron uptake increased significantly with lime application and enhanced by 45.9, 27.0% in grain and 44.5 and 29.3% in stover, respectively over control. Application of phosphorus significantly enhanced the growth attributes, yield attributes, grain and stover yield and P and B uptake except rows per cob and test weight and the highest values of these parameters were recorded with 40.2 mg P2O5 kg-1. However, grain and stover yield and P and B uptake in grain and stover remained statistically at par with 26.8 mg P2O5 kg-1application.Application of 26.8 mg P2O5 kg-1 enhanced plant height at harvest, grain and stover yield by 21.2, 23.2 and 19.8%, respectively over control. Plant height, leaves plant-1, cob length, cob girth, grains row-1, grains cob-1, grain and stover yield and P and B uptake were influenced significantly with boron application and maximum values were recorded with 0.90 mg B kg-1. At harvest plant height, grain and stover yield was increased by 4.9, 10.9 and 10.6%, respectively with application of 0.90 mg B kg-1 over control. Lime application significantly increased the available P and B status of post harvest soil. Application of P and B significantly improved their respective status in post harvest soil.Thus, results suggested that application of ¼ lime of LR along with 26.8 mg kg-1 P2O5 and 0.90 mg kg-1 boron proved beneficial for cultivation of maize in acidic soil condition of Nagaland.

Growth and Yield of Grain Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata sub sp. cylindrica) in Response to Foliar Nutrition and Graded Levels of Phosphorus and Potassium

“…This result is in agreement with the findings of [38]. Application of K can lead to increased metabolic activities and better root proliferation in legumes ultimately resulting in enhanced seed setting and pod formation [39]. These findings are in conformity with study reported by Hussain et al [40][41][42].…”

Impact of Biofertilizers, Neem coated urea and Foliar NPK (12:32:16) on growth and yield attributes of Mung bean

“…The presence of the rhizobium makes the soil fix the atmospheric nitrogen for the availability of nitrogen to the plant which helps in plant growth in a healthier way and increases the yield parameters like Pods/plant, seeds/pod and pod length. Similar, observations were reported by Priyanka Sharma and Prakash Borah, (2020) [24] , Nusakho Nyekha et al, (2015) [14] , P Vinodhini et al, (2022) [16] , F. K. Mbaka et al, (2022) [5] , Yubaraj Dhakal et al, (2016) [26] , B Bhabai et al, (2019) [6] . Grain yield: The treatment T7 (NPK Foliar 12:32:16 + Rhizobium) produced the maximum grain yield among all the other treatments and statistically at par with T8 (NPK Foliar 12:32:16 + VAM).…”

Maize (Zea mays) Yield Response to Application of Calcium, Magnesium and Boron on Acid Soil

“…On most acid soils, there are several limiting factors for plant growth, including toxic levels of Al, Mn, and iron (Fe), as well as deficiencies of some essential elements, such as phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), Mg, and some micronutrients such as Mo and B [2], low microbial activity, poor fertility, and low crop yields. To meet the demands of calcium and magnesium, as well as to create favorable conditions for better uptake of other essential nutrients, liming is an important management practice in the acid soils helping in raising the pH and base saturation of the soil and inactivation of iron, aluminium and manganese in the soil solution and minimizing phosphate fixation by iron [3,4,5].…”