Abstract
To check the performance of maize under different tillage practices and varied sowing methods, an experiment was conducted at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with split plot arrangement with three replications. Different tillage practices viz, conventional tillage, minimum tillage and deep tillage were kept in main plots while sowing methods viz, flat sowing, ridge sowing and bed sowing were allocated to subplots. The maize hybrid “Pioneer-32T16” was sown on 24th February, 2012. Data pertaining to morphological and phenological attributes of maize showed that tillage practices and sowing methods had a significant effect on Germination count·m-2 (7.8), leaf area per plant (5010 cm2), leaf area index (4.87), crop growth rate (20.69 g·m-2·d-1), plant height (213.04 cm), number of leaves per plant (11.89), days to 50% tasseling (72.44) and days to 50% silking (73.77). Economically, maize sown on ridges under deep tillage gave maximum net income of Rs. 85162 ha-1 while minimum net income of Rs. 56984 ha-1 was found where flat sowing was adopted under minimum tillage system and also more BCR of 1.70 was recorded in ridge sown maize under deep tillage.
Highlights
Maize is the third most important cereal crop of Pakistan after wheat and rice
The soil moisture contents were higher in conventional tillage and bulk density was lesser in case of deep tillage as compared to minimum tillage
Experiment comprised of Tillage Practices (Main-Plots) i.e., T1: Conventional tillage (Disc harrow twice + cultivator once + planking); T2: Minimum tillage (Cultivator twice + planking) and T3: Deep tillage (Chisel plough twice + cultivator once + planking) as well as sowing methods (Sub-Plots) i.e., S1: Flat sowing (R × R = 60 cm); S2: Ridge sowing (R × R = 60 cm) and S3: Bed sowing (Bed = 120 cm)
Summary
Maize is the third most important cereal crop of Pakistan after wheat and rice. Due to its multipurpose usage inHow to cite this paper: Anjum, S.A., et al (2014) Morphological and Phenological Attributes of Maize Affected by Different Tillage Practices and Varied Sowing Methods. The area in the country under maize is very low as compared to wheat and rice despite its importance as high worth edible oil, food for human beings, feed for farm animals and poultry and unprocessed material for miscellaneous agro-based industries [4] and desirable crop for crop rotation. It is used as staple food in many countries. Keeping in view the importance of cultural practices in crop yield, the present study was planned to evaluate the affect of different tillage systems and sowing methods on morphological and phenological attributes of maize
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