Performance Evaluation of Sweetcorn with Different Levels of Irrigation and Nitrogen through Drip during Post Monsoon Season at Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India

Abstract

The present study on Performance evaluation of Sweetcorn with different levels of Irrigation and nitrogen through drip during post monsoon season at Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India was conducted for two years at Maize Research Centre, Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to assess the influence of different levels of irrigation and nitrogen on performance of sweetcorn hybrid. Randomized block design with factorial concept was used in the study and the experiment was replicated thrice. The treatments used were two factors. Factor I was five irrigation levels viz., I1: Drip irrigation at 60% E pan, I2: Drip irrigation at 80% E pan, I3: Drip irrigation at 100% E pan, I4:Drip irrigation at 120% E pan andI5: Surface irrigation at IW/CPE- 1.0 and Factor II was four nitrogen levels in kg ha-1 viz., N1: 120, N2: 160 N3: 200 N4: 240. Pooled mean of two years revealed that, drip irrigation with 120% E pan which was on par with 100% E pan showed significantly better crop performance in terms of growth characteristics like plant height, Leaf Area Index and dry matter production and both were superior to drip irrigation of 80 and 60% E pan as well as surface irrigation method. Among the yield attributes, cob girth and 100 seed weight were not influenced either with irrigation or nitrogen and their interaction. Cob length, number of seeds row-1, green cob and fodder yield were higher with drip irrigation of 120% E pan but were on par with 100% E pan. Among the different nitrogen levels, nitrogen at the rate of 240 kg ha-1recorded significantly higher growth parameters, yield attributes, green cob and fodder yield but it was on par with 200 kg ha-1 and both were superior over 160 and 120 kg N ha-1. Drip irrigation of 100% E pan and a nitrogen level of 200 kg ha-1 resulted in higher gross and net returns and benefit cost ratio compared to other irrigation and nitrogen treatments. From the study, drip irrigation of 100% E pan with 200 kg N ha-1is recommended for getting higher yields and net income in sweetcorn hybrid grown in Southern Agro climatic zone of Telangana, India.