Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep 2:11:1307.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01307. eCollection 2020.

Macronutrient Management Effects on Nutrient Accumulation, Partitioning, Remobilization, and Yield of Hybrid Maize Cultivars

Krishnendu Ray  1 , Hirak Banerjee  2 , Sudarshan Dutta  3 , Sukamal Sarkar  2 , T Scott Murrell  3   4 , Vinod K Singh  5 , Kaushik Majumdar  3
Affiliations

Macronutrient Management Effects on Nutrient Accumulation, Partitioning, Remobilization, and Yield of Hybrid Maize Cultivars

Krishnendu Ray et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

It is critical to understand nutrient dynamics within different plant parts to correctly fine-tune agronomic advices, and to update breeding programs for increasing nutrient use efficiencies and yields. Farmer's field-based research was conducted to assess the effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) levels on dry matter and nutrient accumulation, partitioning, and remobilization dynamics in three popular maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids (P3522, P3396, and Rajkumar) over two years in an alluvial soil of West Bengal, India. Experimental results revealed that NPK rates as well as different cultivars significantly (p ≤ 0.05) influenced the dry matter accumulation (DMA) in different plant parts of maize at both silking and physiological maturity. The post-silking dry matter accumulation (PSDMA) and post-silking N, P, and K accumulations (PSNA, PSPA, PSKA) were highest in cultivar P3396. However, cultivar P3522 recorded the highest nutrient remobilizations and contributions to grain nutrient content. Total P and K accumulation were highest with 125% of the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) while total N accumulation increased even after 150% RDF (100% RDF is 200 kg N, 60 kg P2O5, and 60 kg K2O ha-1 for the study region). Application of 125% RDF was optimum for PSDMA. The PSNA continued to increase up to 150% RDF while 125% RDF was optimum for PSPA. Cultivar differences significantly affected both remobilization efficiency (RE) and contribution to grain nutrient content for all tested macronutrients (N, P, and K). In general, RE as well as contribution to grain nutrient content was highest at 125% RDF for N and K, and at 100% RDF for P (either significantly or at par with other rates) for plots receiving nutrients. For all tested cultivars, nutrient remobilization and contribution to grain nutrient content was highest under nutrient-omission plots and absolute control plots. Both year and cultivar effects were non-significant for both grain and stover yields of maize. Application of 75% RDF was sufficient to achieve the attainable yield at the study location. The cultivar P3522 showed higher yield over both P3396 and Rajkumar, irrespective of fertilizer doses, although, the differences were not statistically significant (p ≥ 0.05). The study underscores the importance of maize adaptive responses in terms of nutrients accumulation and remobilization at different levels of nutrient availability for stabilizing yield.

Keywords: NPK; corn (maize); dry matter accumulation; fertilizer; grain yield; nutrient dynamics; remobilization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relation between dry matter accumulation and N (A, B), P (C, D), and K (E, F) accumulation at silking, and physiological maturity stage of hybrid maize.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relation between grain yield and dry matter (A), N (B), P (C), and K (D) accumulation of hybrid maize at silking stage.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relation between grain yield and dry matter (A), N (B), P (C), and K (D) accumulation of hybrid maize at post-silking stage.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relation between grain yield and dry matter (A), N (B), P (C), and K (D) accumulation of hybrid maize at physiological maturity stage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ahmed A., Aftab S., Hussain S., Cheema H. N., Liu W., Yang F., et al. (2020). Nutrient accumulation and distribution assessment in response to potassium application under maize–soybean intercropping system. Agronomy 10, 725. 10.3390/agronomy10050725 - DOI
    1. AOAC (1995). Official Methods of Analysis. 16th edition (Washington, DC: Association of Official Analytical Chemists; ).
    1. Banerjee H., Goswami R., Chakraborty S., Dutta S., Majumdar K., Satyanarayana T., et al. (2014. a). Understanding biophysical and socio-economic determinants of maize (Zea mays L.) yield variability in eastern India. NJAS–Wageningen J. Life Sci. 70-71, 79–93. 10.1016/j.njas.2014.08.001 - DOI
    1. Banerjee H., Goswami R., Chakraborty S., Dutta S., Majumdar K., Satyanarayana T., et al. (2014. b). Integrating biophysical and socio-economic determinants into field-specific fertilizer recommendations. Better Crops-South Asia 8, 18–20.
    1. Banerjee H., Goswami R., Dutta S. K., Chakraborty S., Majumdar K. (2015). Farm typology-based phosphorus management for maize in West Bengal. Better Crops-South Asia 9, 8–11.