INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT ON HYBRID MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.) PRODUCTION IN LAMAHI DANG, NEPAL

Prabesh Pandit, Ramesh Khadka, Chiranjibi Puri

DOI: 10.26480/bda.01.2025.30.34

ABSTRACT
The key to sustainable agricultural production and environmental protection is the prudent use of both organic and inorganic fertilizers. With these goals in mind, an experiment was carried out in the spring of 2021 in Lamahi municipality Dang district of Lumbini province to ascertain the impact of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on hybrid maize yield and yield-attributing characteristics. With nine treatments and three replications, the experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design. Poultry manure, farm-yard manure (FYM), vermi-compost, and inorganic fertilizers are all included in INM. 10v10 was the variety used in the experiment. Grain yield, cob circumference, number of rows per cob, harvest index, and economic parameter (i.e., cost of cultivation, gross income, net income and benefit cost ratio) were all significantly impacted by the various Integrated Nutrient Management approaches. In comparison to 100% N through chemical fertilizers, the INM practices of 50% N through chemical fertilizers and 50% N through vermin-compost demonstrated the maximum grain output (6.84 t ha-1), cob circumference (16.67 cm), number of rows per cob (16.9), and harvest index (42.7). In terms of B: C ratio and net income, treatment with 100% N via Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (RDF) also showed the top ratings. However, the treatment that received 50% N from chemical fertilizers and 50% N from vermi-compost had the highest gross income.

KEYWORDS
Maize, Integrated Pest Management, Yield and yield attributing characters