Evaluation of maize varieties in acid soil condition

Development of varieties for acid-soil tolerance are desirable as a relatively inexpensive and permanent way for increasing maize yield on these soils. Five maze varieties namely Manakamana-1, Manakamana-3, Poshilo Makai-1, Deuti and Manakamana-4 and three levels of lime namely 0, 1.5 and 3 t ha⁻¹ were evaluated at Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal during June to October, 2012. The experiment was conducted using split plot design with three replications where variety was used as main-plot factor and lime levels as sup-plot factor. The objective of this study was to identify agronomic performance of maize varieties under different levels of lime. The effects of varieties and lime application were found significant for agro-morphological traits of maize. The highest significant (P≤0.01) grain yield was given by Manakamana-3 (5754 kg ha⁻¹) followed by Deuti (5169 kg ha⁻¹). Application of lime at the rate of 1.5 t ha⁻¹ showed statistically significant highest grain yield. Therefore, Manakamana-3 could be good option for better yield and applying lime @1.5 t ha⁻¹ can be recommended.