Effect of Organic and Inorganic Nutrient Sources and Foliar Silica Application on Growth and Yield Attributes of Maize (Zea mays L.) in Typic Haplustepts

DOI: 10.22161/ijeab.114.8

Abstract:
A field experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2025 at the Agronomy Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur, Rajasthan, to evaluate the effect of organic and inorganic nutrient sources along with foliar silica application on the growth and yield attributes of maize (Zea mays L.) in Typic Haplustepts. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications comprising ten treatment combinations involving different levels of recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF), vermicompost and foliar application of 0.5% silica. The results revealed that the application of 100% RDF + vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 + foliar spray of 0.5% silica (T10) recorded the highest plant height (250.9 cm), dry matter accumulation (222.68 g plant-1), number of cobs plant-1 (1.39), grains cob-1 (532), cob weight (203.88 g), seed index (29.35 g) and shelling percentage (74.44%). Although several treatments exhibited statistical parity with T10 for individual parameters, 75% RDF + vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1 + foliar spray of 0.5% silica (T7) was the only treatment that consistently remained at par with T10 across all evaluated growth and yield attributes. The findings indicate that integrated use of organic and inorganic nutrient sources together with foliar silica improved crop growth and reproductive performance by creating a favourable nutrient environment.

Keywords:
Maize, Foliar Silica, Vermicompost, Typic Haplustepts.

Article Info:
Received: 13 Jun 2026; Received in revised form: 10 Jul 2026; Accepted: 13 Jul 2026; Available online: 18 Jul 2026

Cite this Article: