PHOSPHOROUS EFFECTS ON EARLY GROWTH OF MAIZE (Zea mays L.) VARIETIES IN ULTISOLS

Abstract

Soil phosphorus (P) availability is critical for the early growth and development of maize (Zea mays L.). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of P on early growth of maize varieties. A pot experiment was conducted at Lamjung campus during February to March, 2018 to investigate the effect of P application on early growth of maize plants in Ultisols. The experiment was conducted in two factorial combination of five P level (0 kg ha-1, 15 kg ha-1, 30 kg ha-1, 45 kg ha-1 and 60 kg ha-1) and three varieties of maize (Arun-4, Rampur Composite and Manakamana-3). The treatments were laid out on complete randomized design (CRD) with three replications. The effect of P on root biomass, plant height, number of leave and, shoot dry matter of plant was investigated. Results showed that application of 60 kg P ha-1 appeared to be superior to improve the yield attributes. Varietal responses also appeared to be significantly different. Rampur composite responded significantly better in plant height than Manakamana-3 but it did not differ significantly with Arun-4. Although, significant response were found on growth parameters with higher P levels, further investigation is needed to optimize the P rate for enhancing maize yield attributing parameters.

Keywords

• maize (zea mays l.), phosphorous, growth