Impact of NPK and compost tea on quality of maize

This field experiment was conducted in Sof Al-Jin Farm in Bani Walid, Libya, during the agricultural winter season 2023 to study the effect of NPK and compost tea on vegetative growth, yield and chemical composition of maize cv. "Giza 3084". This experiment consisted of six treatments arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) design with three replicates for each treatment. These treatments were (control (untreated), NPK (20-20-20) at 150 kg/ha, compost tea (CT) at 200 l/ ha, CT at 300 l/ ha, CT at 400 l/ ha, NPK + CT at 400 l/ ha. Vegetative growth traits, yield component and some chemical properties of maize were studied. The results indicated significant increase by increasing compost tea rates in all vegetative growth traits of maize under study (plant height, No. of leaves/plant, stem diameter, leaf area index, total chlorophyll), yield and yield components (ear length, ear diameter, ear weight, number of grains/ ear, 100-grain weight, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index) and chemical composition (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and protein percentages) showed. However, mixed of NPK + CT at 400 l/ ha recorded the highest values of all vegetative growth, yield and yield component and chemical composition were studied, followed by compost tea (CT) at 400 l/ ha, as compared to control treatment which recorded the lowest values of all vegetative growth, yield and yield component and chemical composition of maize. Therefore, the need to adapt more resilient agricultural production systems allows for the consideration of compost tea as an alternative to mitigate environmental problems and soil degradation.