Influence of Crop Geometry and Different Sources of Fertilizers on the Morphology and Yield Attributes of Spring Maize (Zea mays L.)

Background: The rapid increase in population, urbanization and climate change have severely impacted global food production. Currently, global agriculture is facing a major threat due to erratic weather conditions, a decline in natural resources and deteriorating soil fertility. The efficient management and utilization of natural resources along with the applied fertilizers is essential at this point. Methods: Considering the nature of situation, the field experiment was conducted in the spring season of 2022 and 2023 to evaluate the influence of crop geometry and various sources of fertilizers on the morphology and yield of spring maize. The field trial was carried out in the split-plot design with three types of crop geometry i.e., 40 x 40 cm; 50 x 50 cm and 60 x 20 cm; and four different sources of fertilizers i.e., nano fertilizers, ferti-capsule, customized fertilizers and normal fertilizers. Result: The results revealed that the growth parameters like plant height (cm) and number of leaves were significantly affected under the treatment 6 (50 x 50 cm + nano fertilizers), while the grain yield and stover yield (kg/ha), were impacted by the treatment 10 i.e., 60 x 20 cm + nano fertilizers. The employment of treatment 6 aided in enhancing the productivity per plant, while the former assisted in achieving the highest production per hectare.