Department of Botany, University of Dacca, Bangladesh
Potassium Naphthenate (KNap) was applied either as seed-soaking (30 and 50 ppm) or as foliar spray (2,500 ppm) at the age of 41 or 62 days on two corn hybrids grown under field conditions. Grain yield, grain protein, total reduced nitrogen content and nitrate reductase activity (NRA) were determined at three stages of growth. The NRA was increased following most of the treatments. In the variety Deccan, seed-soaking with 30 ppm KNap produced maximum stimulation while the effect of foliar spray treatments became more apparent at the later stages when flowering started. In Ganga-5" foliar spray treatments proved to be more effective and the maximum increase was obtained following treatment at the age of 41 days. Significant positive correlation of nitrate reductase activity (NRA) with grain yield, grain protein and total accumulated nitrogen of plants was obtained.
