Agronomy and Economy: Impact of Tillage and Poultry Manure on Mazie (<i>Zea mays</i>L.)

Seedling emergence and seedling establishment are two important phases for the good crop stand and final maize crop harvest. A field study was conducted to explore the effects of different tillage practices and poultry manure levels on the seedling emergence, growth, development, yield, and economics of the spring planted maize during 2010 and 2011. Experimental treatments include four tillage treatments (zero, minimum, conventional and deep tillage) and three poultry manure amendments (control (no manure), 5 Mg·ha-1 and 10 Mg·ha-1). Seedling emergence was linearly affected as the tillage intensity was increased. Significant relationship of tillage with leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, net assimilation rate and total dry matter was recorded during the both years. Poultry manure at the rate of 10 Mg·ha-1 produced the higher leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, total dry matter and grain yield as compared to 5 Mg·ha-1 and control. Moreover, experimental results concluded that the deep tillage practice has taken less time to start emergence. Similarly, higher values trend of leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, total dry matter accumulation and grain yield was shifted from deep tillage to conventional, minimum and zero tillage practices during both years. Economically, the minimum tillage with poultry manure at rate of 10 Mg·ha-1 gave the better benefit to cost ratio and crop productivity as compared to conventional, deep and zero tillage. The experiment suggested the minimum tillage with poultry manure at the rate of 10 Mg·ha-1 may ensure the maize grain yield sustainability.

Evaluating the Intercropping of Millet with Cowpea for Forage Yield and Quality

A field study was scheduled to estimate the impact of intercropping of pearl millet with cowpea on forage yield and quality at Agronomy Research Farm, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. It was done in kharif season 2016. Randomized complete block design was used to conduct this experiment. It has three replications. The size of net plot is 3.6 m × 6 m. It comprised of five treatments (T1 = one row of millet alternating with one row of cowpea (1M:1C), T2 = two rows of millet alternating with one row of cowpea (2M:1C), T3 = one row of millet alternating with two rows of cowpea (1M:2C), T4 = sole millet, T5 = sole cowpea). We found that intercropping significantly effected the yield and quality of forage. Intercropping system had significant effects on nutritive value of forage crop. Within various treatments of intercropping, it is evident that treatment T2 (two rows of millet alternating with one row of cowpea) gives maximum total dry matter yield (9.68 t ha-1). It was then tracked by treatment T1 (one row of millet alternating with one row of cowpea) and treatment T3 (one row of millet alternating with two rows of cowpea) producing dry matter yield (9.07 t ha-1 and 8.33 t ha-1, respectively). Based on high grain and suitable environmental condition, intercrop productivity compared to sole crop could be selected for improving the productivity of millet/cowpea mixture in the Punjab.

Impact of Different Zinc Application Methods on Yield and Yield Components of Various Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i>L.) Cultivars

To evaluate the impact of different zinc application methods on yield and yield components of various wheat cultivars, a field experiment was carried out at Student’s Farm, Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, during winter 2014-2015. The experiment was laid out in RCBD (Randomized Complete Block Design) with factorial arrangement. In this experiment, all the treatments were replicated three times, using the net plot size of 1.8 m × 5.0 m. The experiment comprised of two factors. Factor A consists of two varieties: Faisalabad-2008 and Punjab-2011. While, Factor B consists of different methods of zinc application, control, zinc application in soil before planting 23 kg·ha-1, zinc foliar application, 4% ZnSO4 solution at two stages (tillering and stem elongation stage). The data regarding different parameters were collected and analyzed from the crop using standard procedures. Regarding the impact of zinc application method maximum plant height at maturity (103.6 cm), total number of tillers (564.67 m-2), spike length (10.83 cm), number of spikelets spike-1 (19.50), number of grains spike-1 (50.36), 1000-grain weight (34.16 g), biological yield (11.93 t·ha-1), grain yield (6.00 t·ha-1) and harvest index (39.25%) were recorded in treatment where zinc was applied both in the soil before planting and by foliar application on later growth stages. Similarly, grain zinc contents (33.11 mg·kg-1), grain protein contents (10.1%) and grain carbohydrate contents (64.23%) were also observed in the treatment where zinc was applied both in the soil before planting and by foliar application on later growth stages, which is better than all other treatments. In case of wheat varieties, Faisalabad-2008 performed better than Punjab-2011, with maximum method maximum total number of tillers (460.67 m-2), spike length (9.70 cm), number of grains spike-1 (48.80), 1000-grain weight (33.81 g), biological yield (10.32 t·ha-1), grain yield (5.0 t·ha-1) and harvest index (33.93%). It is concluded that sowing of wheat cultivar Faisalabad-2008 + application of zinc in soil before planting with foliar application at later stages (tillering and stem elongation stage) of wheat could give better results in terms of yield.