Influence of foliar fertilizers on growth dynamics of rabi maize (Zea mays L.) under south Gujarat condition

Introduction

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the world's most important cereal crops after rice and wheat and is widely recognized as the "Queen of Cereals" because of its high yield potential, wide adaptability and diverse utilization. It serves as a staple food, livestock feed and an important raw material for various industries including starch, ethanol, paper and pharmaceutical products (Erenstein et al., 2022) [11] . Globally, maize is cultivated on about 206 million hectares with a production exceeding 1.2 billion tonnes (Anon., 2024) [2] , whereas in India it occupies about 12.84 million hectares with a production of 46.17 million tonnes (Anon., 2025a) [3] . Area of 425.68 thousand hectares with a production of 970.45 thousand tonnes and an average productivity of 2280 kg/ha in Gujarat (Anon., 2025-26b) [3,4] . Maize is a nutrient-exhaustive crop and responds markedly to balanced fertilization, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus throughout its growing period right from the seedling stage to grain filling stage. The demand of plants for nitrogen is more than any other nutrient and it is noticed that deficiency at any stage of growth, especially at tasseling and silking stage, may lead to virtual crop failure. Nitrogen deficiency is characterized by stunted plant growth with yellowing of green foliage, particularly the lower leaves (Dodiya et al., 2024) [9] . As of now, 30-45% of nitrogen and 18-20% of phosphorus is utilized by plants at the farm level, while the rest is wasted due to quick chemical transformation because of leaching, which contaminates soil and water bodies and volatilization that causes emissions of ammonia gas in the atmosphere leading to air pollution and global warming along with runoff and soil fixation. Imbalanced fertilization is one of the most critical factors to be considered for N and P management. Over the long run, the application of nitrogen and phosphorus based fertilizers with less efficiency might deteriorate the quality of maize and pollute the environment (Samui et al., 2022) [17] . These losses of fertilizer cannot be completely avoided, but can be minimized by using advanced techniques such as foliar application, split application and use of slow-release fertilizers.

Foliar fertilization has emerged as an effective complementary approach to conventional soil fertilization by supplying nutrients directly through leaves during periods of high crop demand (Toth et al., 2022) [23] . Nanotechnology is a powerful tool in agriculture that utilizes nanomaterials of less than 100 nm in size and has emerged as an innovative science to develop concentrated sources of plant nutrients with a higher absorption rate, utilization efficacy and minimum losses (Upadhyay et al., 2023) [24] . Nanotechnology based fertilizers are made by encapsulating or developing plant nutrients in its nanoforms and ultimately delivering in the form of nano-sized emulsions. Nano fertilizers are very effective for controlled nutrient supply to plants at different growth stages. Nanoscale nutrients can effectively enter into plant leaves, trigger nutrient pathways and achieve higher nutrient use efficiency. Although the beneficial effects of nano fertilizers have been reported, limited information is available regarding the combined foliar application of nano urea and Nano DAP with reduced recommended fertilizer doses under the agro-climatic conditions of south Gujarat.

Materials and Methods

A field experiment entitled "Influence of Foliar Fertilizers on Growth Dynamics of rabi Maize (Zea mays L.) under south Gujarat Condition" was carried out on Block -A in plot No. 13 and Block -B in plot No. 12 during the rabi season of 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively at College Farm, N. M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications and 14 treatments comprising T 1: Control, T 2: 100% RDF, T 3: Foliar spray of Nano urea 4 ml/L at 45 and 60 DAS, T 4: Foliar spray of Nano DAP 4 ml/L at 45 and 60 DAS, T 5: Foliar spray of Nano urea 4 ml/L + Nano DAP 4 ml/L at 45 and 60 DAS, T 6: Foliar spray of Urea 2% at 45 and 60 DAS, T 7: Foliar spray of Urea phosphate 2% at 45 and 60 DAS, T 8: Foliar spray of Urea 2% + Urea phosphate 2% at 45 and 60 DAS, T 9: 75% RDF + Foliar spray of Nano urea 4 ml/L at 45 and 60 DAS, T 10: 75% RDF + Foliar spray of Nano DAP 4 ml/L at 45 and 60 DAS, T 11: 75% RDF + Foliar spray of Nano urea 4 ml/L + Nano DAP 4 ml/L at 45 and 60 DAS, T 12: 75% RDF + Foliar spray of Urea 2% at 45 and 60 DAS, T 13: 75% RDF + Foliar spray of Urea phosphate 2% at 45 and 60 DAS and T 14: 75% RDF + Foliar spray of Urea 2% + Urea phosphate 2% at 45 and 60 DAS. The soils of the experimental sites in both years were clay in texture, alkaline in nature with normal electrical conductivity, low in organic carbon and available nitrogen, medium in available phosphorus and fairly high in available potassium. According to the data for the period of experimentation in 2023-24 and 2024-25 indicated that the mean maximum temperature varies from 28.3 to 39.2C and 29.6 to 37.3C, while the mean minimum temperature ranged between 11.6 to 23.7C and 12.9 to 22.9C, respectively. The mean relative humidity (morning) ranged between 67 to 96 and 63 to 93 per cent and at evening it ranged between 25 to 73 and 17 to 50 per cent during the experimental period, respectively. The mean bright sunshine hours per day varies from 3.9 to 9.9 and 1.4 to 10.3 during 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively. The mean evaporation ranged from 1.9 to 5.7 and 3.2 to 5.9 mm during 1 st and 2 nd year, respectively. Total four different foliar fertilizers used in the experimentation, which was Nano urea (4.0% N), Nano DAP (8.0% N and 16.0% P 2 O 5 ) @ 4 ml/L and water-soluble fertilizers urea phosphate @ 2% (17% N and 44% P 2 O 5 ) and Conventional urea @ 2%. They were applied by using knapsack sprayer with the help of flat fan nozzle at 500 L/ha of water at 45 and 60 DAS as per treatment. Rabi maize variety GAYMH-3 was sown at a spacing of 60 cm × 20 cm, using a seed rate of 25 kg/ha and the RDF (150:60:00 NPK kg/ha) was used. Leaf area was measured by lengths of all the fully opened leaf lamina per plant were measured from the base to the tip of the leaf. Breadth was taken at three portions i.e. below the middle, at middle and above the middle portion of the leaf lamina and then the average was taken. The products of leaf length and breadth were multiplied by the factor 0.75 (Elings, A., 2000) [10] . Calculate the leaf area index using following formula.

Leaf area index (LAI) =

Leaf area per plant (cm) Ground area (cm)

The result of experiments on plant height at 45, 60 DAS and at harvest of maize is summarized in Table 1 The synergistic interaction between nitrogen and phosphorus further enhanced metabolic activities, enzyme function and growth regulating processes, ultimately increasing plant height. Similar findings were also reported by Ajithkumar et al. (2021) [1] , Samui et al. (2022) [17] , Meena et al. (2023) [14] , Srivastava and Singh (2023) [20] , Bhukya et al. (2024) [6] , Das et al. (2024) [8] , Dodiya et al. (2024) [9] and Gajera et al. (2025) [12] in maize.

2) Leaf Area (cm 2 ) and Leaf Area Index (LAI) [1] , Rajesh et al., Bhaurao (2022) [5] , Nagar (2022) [15] , Reddy et al. (2022) [16] , Tilak (2022) [22] , Chavan et al. (2024) [7] and Sushma et al. (2025) [21] in maize.

Significantly higher dry matter accumulation (32. [16] , Samui et al. (2022) [17] , Meena et al. (2023) [14] , Sannathimmappa et al. (2023) [9] , Dodiya et al. (2024) [9] , Khan et al. (2024) [13] , Sanjeev et al. (2024) [18] , Sushma et al. (2025) [21] and Vasanth et al. (2025) [25] in maize.

Conclusion

Based on the two years of field investigation, it can be concluded that maize crop should be fertilized with 100% RDF (150-60-00, N-P 2 O 5 -K 2 O kg/ha) or 75% RDF + Foliar spray of Nano urea 4 ml/L at 45 and 60 DAS or 75% RDF + Foliar spray of Nano urea 4 ml/L + Nano DAP 4 ml/L at 45 and 60 DAS for getting higher growth under south Gujarat condition.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementIt is really highly fortunate that I got the great opportunity to work under the golden hear head personality, Dr. R. M. Pankhaniya for most inoperative guidance, constant encouragement and academic carrier. Special thanks to N. M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University for promptly providing technical support, field and laboratory facilities throughout the course of investigation.

References

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