Effects of soil and foliar application of urea on growth, yield and economics of rainfed maize (Zea mays L.) in Punjab

Foliar application of urea is considered as an important crop contingency strategy to supply nitrogen (N) especially under rainfed conditions. An experiment was conducted during kharif seasons of 2019 and 2020 at Pathankot, Punjab to study the effects of soil and foliar application of N on growth, yield and economics of rainfed maize (Zea mays L.). The experiment was conducted in randomized block design having eight treatments in different combinations of soil and foliar application of N with three replications. Soil application of N (100% RDN) plus 2% urea foliar sprays at 15 and 30 days after sowing (DAS) (T₈) resulted in 19.9, 15.5, 16.0, 18.7 and 59.3% higher plant height, cob length, grains per cob, 1000-grain weight and water use efficiency (WUE) respectively, as compared to control. The same treatment also produced 60% and 67.8% higher grain and straw yield and 182% and 46.2% higher net returns and B:C ratio as compared to control. Regression analysis showed that the yield attributes effectively influenced the grain yield. Application of 75% RDN plus 2% urea sprays at 15 and 30 DAS was statistically similar with T₇ (100% of recommended basal N and no foliar N) and T₈-100% of recommended basal N (90 kg urea/ha) & urea (2%) spray at 15 and 30 DAS indicating that foliar spray with urea was effective vis-à-vis maize growth and yield thereby increasing monetary benefits and saving of the N nutrient.