Effect of nano nitrogen on yield attributes of sweet corn (Zea mays Saccharata) and economics

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Agronomy Farm, RCSM College of Agriculture, Kolhapur (M.S.), India during Kharif, 2020 in black Vertisol soil using split plot design with four replications. The main plot factors consist of time of application viz., T1: 15 days after sowing (DAS), T2: 30 DAS and T3: 45 DAS and sub plot factors consist of doses of nano nitrogen (N) fertilizers viz., N1: 1.00 litre per ha, N2: 1.25 litre per ha and N3: 1.50 litre per ha making total nine treatment combinations. The results of main plot showed that length of cob (20.56 cm), diameter of cob (19.71 cm), weight of cob per plant (222.29 g), number of grains per cob (402.07), green cob yield per ha (138.32 q), green fodder yield per ha (359.75 q), protein content in grain (9.74%) and crude protein in stover (5.18%) were significantly maximum when foliar spray was done at 15 days after sowing (DAS). The gross monetary return (Rs. 5,93,172.04 ha-1) and net monetary return (Rs. 3,78,016.10 ha-1) were significantly maximum with foliar spray at 15 DAS (T1) over later spraying at 30 DAS (T2) and 45 DAS (T3). While, in sub-plot length of cob (18.55 cm), diameter of cob (16.83 cm), weight of cob per plant (208.65 g), number of grains per cob (371.25), green cob yield per ha (125.96 q), green fodder yield per ha (344.39 q), protein content in grain (9.29%) and crude protein in stover (5.10%) were obtained from treatment N3 (1.5 litre ha-1) which was on par with treatment N2 (1.25 litre ha-1) and significantly superior over N1 (1 litre ha-1). The highest value of the gross monetary return (Rs. 5,80,827.23 ha-1) and net monetary return (Rs. 3,59,534.55 ha-1) were obtained from treatment N3 (1.5 litre ha-1) which was at par with treatment N2 (1.25 litre ha-1) and significantly superior over treatment N1 (1.00 litre ha-1).