Boosting Grain Yield and Yield Related Traits of Spring Maize through Integrated Management Strategies.

Natural resources management strategies through the application of agronomic management practice sat the farmer field can improve per unit crop harvest which is congruent with the sustainable agricultural crop development concept. Keeping in view, a field experiment with different tillage practices along with poultry manure treatments was laid out in randomized complete block design with split plot arrangement at the Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan during spring 2010 and same was repeated in spring season 2011. Plant population, number of grains per cob, number of grain rows per cob, 1000-grain weight and grain yield were taken at the crop harvest during the both years of study. Significantly, better plant population (6.67 & 6.67 m-2), more number of grains per cob (422.69 & 466.75), maximum number of grain rows per cob (16.7 & 17.3), higher 1000-grain weight (283.15 &351.53 g) and maximum grain yield (8.01 &9.08 Mg ha-1) was recorded in T4 followed byT3, T2and T1 in the year 2010 and 2011, respectively. Increasing order of poultry manure (PM) levels on the maize crop significantly improved the number of grains per cob, number of grain rows per cob, 1000-grain weight and grain yield. PM3 produced the maximum number of grains per cob (431.66 & 464.21 m-2), higher number of grain rows per cob (17.1 & 17.7), maximum 1000-grain weight (278.16 & 346.73 g) and grain yield (7.92 &9.07 Mg ha-1) than the PM2 and PM1. This study suggested that the T3(conventional tillage practices) along with the PM3 (@10 Mg ha-1) could be helpful in achieving the maize crop genetic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]