Abstract

A field experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design with three replications at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. Fifteen treatment combination consisting of three plant densities; viz., 66,666 ; 83,333 and 1,00,000 plants ha-1 and five mode of nitrogen nutrition, viz., 100% recommended dose of NPK through chemical fertilizer (RDF); 125 % RDF; 100 % recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) through inorganic + 25 % RDN through organic; 75 % RDN through inorganic + 25 % RDN through organic and 50 % RDN through inorganic + 50 % RDN through organic were tested to study their effect on lysine, tryptophan contents and grain yield of QPM (quality protein maize). The results revealed that an increase in plant density up to 83,333 plant ha-1 led to significantly higher grain yields and low protein content without significant reduction in quality i.e. lysine and tryptophan contents. All the nutrient management practices remained at par to each other for all the parameters studied.

Keywords: Maize, Nitrogen, Plant density, Protein, Quality, Yield