Impact of Combine Use of Chemical and Organic Fertilizers on Maize (Zea mays L.) Productivity.

Combine use of chemical and organic fertilizers could be an efficient approach to increase the crop productivity. Therefore, a field study was conducted at Agronomy Research Area University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan during two consecutive autumn seasons (2011 and 2012) in order to evaluate the impact of combine use of organic and inorganic fertilizers on maize productivity. The treatments were control (no fertilizer), 100% N from poultry manure (PM) compost, 75% N from PM compost + 25% N from urea, 50% N from PM compost + 50% N from urea, 25% N from PM compost + 75% N from urea, 100% N from pressmud (PrM) compost, 75% N from PrM compost + 25% N from urea, 50% N from PrM compost + 50% N from urea, 25% N from PrM compost + 75% N from urea and 100% N from urea. The treatments were laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Results of the experiment showed that during both seasons (2011 and 2012) 25% N from PM compost + 75% N from urea produced maximum plant height (29.4 and 27.2%), number of grains per cob (72.32 and 76.86%), 1000 grain weight (96.40 and 102.11%), biological yield (111.44 and 116.48%) and grain yield (200.82 and 202.58%) as compared to control. However, number of cobs per plant did not differ significantly by the application of used treatments. In conclusion, our studies suggest that adding 25% N from PM compost + 75% N from urea in soils is a promising strategy not only to enhance maize yield but also for improving physical and chemical properties of soil.

Keywords: Poultry manure compost; Press-mud compost; grain yield; biological yield; maize