Author(s):

M Ramesh Naik, S Hemalatha, A Pratap Kumar Reddy, KV Naga Madhuri and V Umamahesh

Abstract: Many farmers are applying nitrogen fertilizer to maize in large quantities than crop requirement to obtain maximum possible yield in maize. A field experiment was conducted at the Wet land farm of Sri Venkateswara Agricultural College, Tirupati during Rabi season of 2017-18 to calibrate Leaf colour chart for nitrogen management under varied plant density and to establish threshold leaf colour greenness to guide in-season right quantity fertilizer N for top dressing in maize. The experiment consisted of twenty seven treatment combinations comprising of three planting densities (66,666, 83,333 and 1,11,111 plants ha^-1), three nitrogen levels (30, 35 and 40 kg N ha^-1) and three LCC threshold values (LCC 4, 4.5 and 5). Yield attributes like number of cobs plant^-1, cob length, cob girth, number of kernel rows cob^-1 and number of kernels row^-1 were significantly higher at lower planting density but, kernel yield (6004 kg ha^-1) was significantly maximum at higher stand density (1,11,111 plants ha^-1). Pertaining to nitrogen application based on leaf colour chart (LCC), maximum yield was registered at higher rate of nitrogen 40 kg N ha^-1 by using higher LCC threshold value (LCC-5). Experimental results disclosed that, in maize N fertilizers can be managed more efficiently by supplying fertilizer nitrogen levels based on leaf colour as measured by LCC than blanket recommendation.

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