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This article presents the findings of a study conducted in West Bengal, India, on the correlation between different tillage practices, nutrient management, and the yield of maize. The study found that there was no significant difference in grain and stover yield between different tillage practices. However, significantly higher grain and stover yield was observed with site-specific nutrient management. The study also revealed positive correlations between various growth parameters and grain yield. These findings provide valuable insights into sustainable farming practices for maize cultivation, contributing to food security and environmental stewardship. [Extracted from the article]

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of nutrient management and varieties of maize on productivity and economics and their residual effect on succeeding gobhi sarson crop. Four nutrient management treatments (viz. site-specific nutrient management, SSNM; recommended fertilizer dose, RFD; 50% RFD and farmer's practice) were applied to five varieties of maize (viz. PAC 740, PMZ-4, PSCL 4640, HQPM 1, and BISCO 855) during the kharif seasons of 2012 and 2013 at Palampur. The residual effects of fertilizers were studied in succeeding gobhi sarson. The SSNM-based nutrient application in maize significantly increased crop dry matter, cobs/ha, grain yield, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) uptake, succeeding gobhi sarson seed yield, maize grain equivalent yield, net return, profitability, and B:C. The SSNM-based nutrient application in maize resulted in 4.2–4.6% and 32.6–46.2% higher system productivity and Indian Net Rupee (INR) 4,507–4,926 and INR 28,837–30,078 higher net returns of over recommended fertilizer application and farmer practice, respectively. SSNM had lowest productivity cost of INR 3.1/kg grain. Apparent NPK productivity (62.4 kg grain/kg NPK applied) was highest under 50% RFD. BISCO 855 was earliest in silking with bolder grain. PMZ-4 and PSCL 4640 gave significantly higher dry matter, cob number, grain and stover yield, apparent NPK and physiological productivity, maize equivalent yield, net return and B:C, and lower productivity cost. Gobhi sarson seed yield was not significantly affected by preceding maize varieties. For higher system productivity and income from the maize-gobhi sarson, SSNM with PMZ 4 or PSCL 4640 varieties of maize must be adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertilizer K and P requirements for rice ( Oryza sativa L.) can be determined with site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) using estimated target yield, nutrient balances, and yield gains from added nutrient. We used the QUEFTS (QUantitative Evaluation of the Fertility of Tropical Soils) model with >8000 plot-level observations to estimate the relationship between grain yield and nutrient accumulation in above-ground dry matter of irrigated rice with harvest index ≥ 0.4. Predicted reciprocal internal efficiencies (RIEs) at 60–70% of yield potential corresponded to plant accumulation of 14.6 kg N, 2.7 kg P, and 15.9 kg K per tonne of grain yield. These RIEs enable determination of plant requirements for K and P and net output of K and P in harvested grain and removed crop residues at a target yield. Yield gains for nutrient applied to irrigated rice averaged 12% for K and 9% for P for 525 to 531 observations. For fields without certain yield gain, fertilizer K and P requirements can be determined by a partial maintenance approach (i.e., fertilizer input < output in nutrient balance), which considers nutrient supply mediated through soil processes and balances trade-offs between financial loss with full maintenance rates and risk of excessive nutrient depletion without nutrient application. When yield gains to an added nutrient are certain, partial maintenance plus yield gain can be used to determine fertilizer requirements. The SSNM-based approach and algorithms enable rapid development of field-specific K and P management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]