RESPONSE OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF NITROGEN ON YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF NEWLY RELEASED MAIZE HYBRIDS

Abstract

The experiment was set up at the Soil Science Research field of Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Dinajpur, during the rabi season of 2022-23. The experimental site is located between 25.130 N latitude and 88.230 E longitudes and at an elevation of 37.5 m above sea level. The land belongs to the Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is considered as one of the most important factors affecting growth and grain yield of hybrid maize. This study was conducted to determine the effects of different rates of nitrogen and varieties on the growth and yield of hybrid maize in Dinajpur from November 2022 to April 2023. Four different maize hybrid varieties (BARI hybrid maize-16 (BHM-16), BARI hybrid maize-17 (BHM-17), BWMRI Hybrid Maize-1, BWMRI Hybrid Maize-2) and three levels of N (276, 303 and 331 kg N ha-1) were evaluated using split plot design with three replications. The results showed that grain yield and yield-attributing traits of hybrid maize varieties increased with the increasing level of nitrogen from 273 to 331 kg ha-1. The application of N @ 303 kg N ha-1 produced the highest grain yield (16.33 t ha-1), while the maximum thousand-grain weight (412.35 g) was obtained @ 331 kg N ha-1. The maize variety BWMRI hybrid maize-2 produced the highest grain yield (16.33 t ha-1) and thousand-grain weight (412.35g) as compared to other varieties. This study suggested that maize production can be maximized by cultivating BWMRI hybrid maize-2 with the use of 303 kg N ha-1. From the economic point of view, the maximum gross margin (349457 Tk ha-1) and BCR (3.25) were recorded from BWMRI hybrid maize-2 with the application of 331 kg N ha-1 while lowest gross margin (183457 Tk ha-1) and BCR (2.21) was estimated from BARI hybrid maize 17.