Potentiality of Biofertilizers and Seaweed Extract on Growth & Yield of Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

The study aimed to understand and study the effect of commercial seaweed extract and other biofertilizers on the yield attributes and economics of cultivated sweet corn. The biofertilizers were applied as seed inoculants and seaweed extract was applied as foliar spray. Totally nine combination treatments were evaluated for their performance on the growth and yield of sweet corn and revealed that green cob yield (10.58 t/ha and plant height 145.99 cm at harvest ) was found to be significantly higher in treatment combination Azospirillum @10 gm/kg + PSB @10 gm/kg +5.0% Seaweed extract  and was on par with Azospirillum @20 gm/kg +5.0% Seaweed extract (9.61 t/ha, plant height 143.01 cm). Cobs/plant, grains rows/cob, grains /cob and grains/row were also found highest in the treatment Azospirillum @10 gm/kg + PSB @10 gm/kg +5.0% Seaweed extract. Similarly with respect to stover yield and higher harvest index (34.50%) was noticed in PSB @20 gm/kg +10% Seaweed extract which was followed by Azospirillum @10 gm/kg + PSB @10 gm/kg +5.0% Seaweed extract (34.40%). The benefit cost ratio was highest in the treatment  Azospirillum @10 gm/kg + PSB @10 gm/kg +5.0% (2.77) and lowest B:C ratio (1.2) was obtained in the PSB @20 gm/kg + water spray. These findings indicate that seaweed extract can generally be used as a safe potential multifunctional biofertilizer in the agricultural field. The use of seaweed and biofertilizer could potentially help mitigate the adverse effects of main nutrient deficiencies, diminishing the use of chemical fertilizers.