Analyzing the Effects of Integrated Nutrient Management on the Growth and Yield Attributes of Maize (Zea mays L.)

A field study was conducted over two consecutive years (2020–2022) at the Research Farm of Agronomy, Alpine Institute of Technology, Prem Nagar, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of different integrated nutrient management (INM) treatments on the growth, yield attributes, and economic viability of maize cultivation. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications to ensure statistical accuracy. Seven treatments were evaluated: T1 (Control), T2 (50% RDF + FYM + Bio-fertilizer consortium), T3 (75% RDF + FYM + Bio-fertilizer consortium), T4 (100% RDF + FYM + Bio-fertilizer consortium), T5 (100% RDF), T6 (125% RDF), and T7 (FYM + Bio-fertilizer consortium). Growth parameters viz., plant height, LAI and dry matter accumulation were recorded at regular intervals, while yield-contributing traits including cob weight, cob length, cob girth, number of grain rows per cob, and number of grains per cob, grain yield, stover yield and Harvest index were observed at harvest. Among all treatments, T4 (100% RDF + FYM + Bio-fertilizer consortium) consistently outperformed the others, recording the highest values in key yield attributes. Specifically, T4 recorded a plant height of 179.2 cm, LAI (5.95) and dry matter accumulation of (448.4 g), cob weight of 192.7 g, cob length of 17.8 cm, cob girth of 4.4 cm and 454 grains per cob. Highest Grain (6.03 tons ha-1) and stover (10.7 tons ha-1) yields were calculated on a per-hectare basis to assess overall productivity.