The effects of foliar fertilization on maize inbred lines

Abstract

Foliar fertilization is a cropping practice measure that, in addition to basic fertilization, which provides plants with macroelements, can supply the cultivated crop with microelements, phytohormones, and amino acids. This research aimed to examine the influence of foliar fertilizers on the morphological characteristics (fresh above-ground mass, leaf area index, and height) and grain yield of five Maize Research Institute "Zemun Polje" maize inbred lines, during the period 2019-2021. Foliar fertilizers were applied in different stages of maize: Đ1 - fertilizer with increased nitrogen content and amino acids was applied when the maize was in the stage of 5-6 developed leaves. The second tested fertilizer with an increased phosphorus content, Đ2, was applied a bit later, at the stage of 11-12 leaves. The experiment also included a control variant on which no foliar fertilizers were applied. Based on the obtained results, fertilizer Đ1 proved to be better compared to Đ2, which indicates the possibility of applying this fertilizer in order to increase plant height, fresh above-ground mass and grain yield.

Keywords

• inbred lines
• supplementary nutrition
• plant feeding