Studies on the influence of liquid biofertilizers and integrated nutrient management practices on growth, yield attributes and yield of maize

Abstract

Field experiments were carried out at Department of Millets, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during kharif, 2016, kharif, 2017, kharif, 2018 and kharif, 2019 in sandy clay loam soil to study the influence of various liquid biofertilizers and integrated nutrient management practices on growth, yield attributes and yield of maize. Based on the results, it could be concluded that application of 60 kg P₂O₅/ha + NPK consortia recorded higher grain yield (5293 kg ha^-1), net return (Rs.44,656/ha) and B: C ratio (2.02) which is the optimum level of phosphorus and suitable liquid biofertilizer for maize. The results of integrated nutrient management practices revealed that application of 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF-250:75:75 NPK kg/ha)  recorded higher grain yield (7318 kg ha^-1), net return (Rs.72, 772/ha) and B: C ratio (2.49) in maize.