Nutrient management approaches (SSNM & STCR) and their economic feasibility in maize (Zea mays L.) crop

The SSNM and STCR approaches are not specifically aim to either reduce or increase fertilizer use, instead, they aim to apply nutrients at optimal rates and time to achieve higher yield through high efficiency of nutrient use by the crop, and thus leading to more net returns per unit of fertilizer invested. The Field experiment was conducted during the kharif 2012 at Agricultural college farm, Raichur to study the effect of soil test based nutrient management approaches on maize. The results revealed that, yield and yield components of maize were influenced favourably with application of fertilizer by SSNM for targeted yield 8 t/ha recorded significantly highest grain yield (7.74 t/ha), stover yield (10.76 t/ha), number of grains per cob (701.82), number of grains per row (38.94), number of rows per cob (18.17) and cob length (20.81 cm). The growth parameters of maize were also influenced favorably with application of fertilizer by SSNM for targeted yield 8 t/ha, dry matter production (376.67 g/plant), leaf area per plant (2527.74 cm2), leaf area index (1.40) and plant height (201.83 cm), over STCR for targeted yield 8 t/ha and RDF. The highest net returns (74,075 ₹ ha-1) and B:C (3.57) was recorded in SSNM for targeted yield 8 t ha-1 as compare to RDF, (45,051 ₹ ha-1) and (3.03), respectively.