SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND SPRING MAIZE YIELD AS INFLUENCED BY DIFFERENT TILLAGE PRACTICES AND INTEGRATED USE OF POULTRY MANURE WITH SYNTHETIC FERTILIZERS

In a study conducted in the Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, effect of different tillage practices (zero tillage, minimum tillage, conventional tillage and deep tillage) and integrated use of different levels of poultry manure (0, 5, 10 Mg/ha) with recommended chemical fertilizers was studied during spring 2010 and 2011. Deep tillage practice significantly influenced the soil bulk density (1.38 and 1.34 Mg/m 3 ), total porosity (0.48 and 0.49 m 3 / m 3 ), water infiltration rate (20.2 and 19.2 mm/hr), root penetration resistance (1631.8 and 1627.7 kpa) and grain yield (945.8 and 1267.2 g/ m 2 ) compared to zero tillage practice during both years under prevailing field conditions. Increased level of poultry manure positively correlated with soil bulk density, total soil porosity, water infiltration rate, root penetration rate and final grain yield. These results clearly indicate that the soil physical properties were highly associated with grain yield of maize.