Effect of Nitrogen and Foliar Application of Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) on Growth and Yield of Baby corn (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

The experiment entitled effect of nitrogen and foliar application of naphthaleneacetic acid on growth and yield of Baby corn (Zea mays L.) was conducted during the Rabi season of 2020 at the Fodder Production Farm of Livestock Research Station, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Lam Farm, Guntur. Andhra Pradesh. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with 10treatments and each replicated thrice. Treatments consisted of a combination of three levels of nitrogen (60.0, 90.0, 120.0kg/ha) and three levels of naphthalene acetic acid (20,40,60 ppm). It was found that an application of 120 kg Nitrogen/ha as basal along with foliar spray of 40 ppm naphthalene acetic acid at 25 and 35 days after sowing, was the most suitable treatment for obtaining growth and yield attributes such as plant height (177.60 cm), number of leaves (11.33), plant dry weight (113.58g/plant), chlorophyll content (68.43), Leaf Area Index (8.65) and green fodder yield (20333 kg/ha) with net return (83,701.88 Rs/ha) and B:C ratio (1.68). On the basis of one-year experimentation it is concluded that the application of 120 kg Nitrogen/ha + 40 ppm naphthalene acetic acid, on baby corn improved cob yield by 25 % and was found more productive than the recommended dose of fertilizer.