Response of zero tillage maize after kharif rice under different methods of establishment and n levels in nagarjuna sagar project left canal command area (sri lai bahadur shastri canal) of nalgonda district

A field study was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Kampasagar, Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh during the rabi season of 2008–09 to evaluate the performance of zero tillage maize under different methods of establishment and N levels after kharif rice. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with five methods of establishment (Zero till drill sowing, hand dibbling, farmers’ practice, sowing behind the small plough and sowing with dibbling machine) as main plots and five nitrogen levels (0, 60, 120, 180 and 240 kg N/ha) as sub-plots. The grain yield was significantly higher with hand dibbling (6244 kg/ha) than sowing with zero till drill machine (5166 kg/ha), behind the small plough (4472 kg/ha) and sowing with dibbling machine (4472 kg/ha). Cob length, diameter and 100-grain weight were significantly higher with hand dibbling. Increase in N level from 0 to 240 kg N/ha significantly increased the grain yield (7130 kg/ha). Grain number per cob was significantly higher at 240 kg N/ha than 0 and 60 kg N/ha. Cob length and diameter were increased significantly with increase in N level from 0 to 240 kg N/ha. The cob length observed at 180 and 240 kg N/ha and cob diameter at 60 and 120 kg N/ha were on par.