REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The relevant research work conducted by various workers related to certain

aspects of the present investigation entitled Effect of integrated nutrient management on
growth, yield and quality of baby corn (Zea mays L.) has been reviewed as under:

Effect of INM on growth characters.

Effect of INM on yield and yield contributing characters.
Effect of INM on quality characters.

Effect of INM on growth characters

Growth is the quantitative and irreversible increase in the amount of living

material (protoplasm) which leads to an increase in cell size and cell division. From an
experiment conducted on rabi maize at Parbhani, Shinde et al.(2014) concluded that
maximum plant height and dry matter production was attained by maize plants with the
application of 100% RDF + 10 t of FYM over all other treatments. While, a long term
experiment was conducted by Gupta et al. (2014) at Samba in J&K on maize and gobhi
sarson cropping system and stated that application of 50% RDF + 50% FYM resulted in
significant increase in plant height and stem girth in maize crop and also resulted in
significant increase in plant height, primary and secondary branches of gobhi sarson.

In an experiment conducted at Hamirpur, Verma (2013) stated that application of

farmyard manure @ 7.5 t ha -1 produced significant plant height and leaf area index as
compared to application of 100 kg ha-1 nitrogen through inorganic sources. On the other
hand from an experiment conducted at Karewa Damodor Research Station, Sher-e-
Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, Lone et al.
(2013) stated that a maximum plant height (201 cm) was obtained from the application of
RDF + 6 t ha-1 FYM over other treatment combinations.

During the year 2010, Joshi et al. (2013) conducted an experiment at

instructional farm of the Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur, Rajasthan to study
the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, productivity and economics of
maize. It was noticed by them that plant height, leaf area index and dry matter production

4
were significantly higher than all the other treatments with the application of
recommended dose of NPK + 10 t FYM ha -1 but remained at par with 150% of
recommended dose of fertilizers. Moreover, in a long term experiment conducted at
western Ethiopia by Zerihun et al. (2013) on maize + soybean intercropping, it has been
found that significant increase in plant height and leaf area index of maize was obtained
with the application of 110 kg N + 46kg P2O5 + 4 t FYM ha-1.

From an experiment carried out at College of Agriculture, Navile, Shimoga by

Shilpashree et al. (2012) it was revealed that significant plant height, number of leaves,
leaf area index was obtained with the application of 100% recommended dose of
fertilizer applied along with the 7.5 t FYM. However, it was concluded from an
experiment conducted in Pakistan by Sarwar et al.(2012) that significantly higher leaf
area index was obtained in maize by the application of nutrients through 75% chemical
fertilizer + 25% through FYM over all other treatments. While, in an experiment
performed at Dharwad by Ravi et al. (2012) revealed that significant plant height and dry
matter production was achieved by maize crop by the application of 10 t FYM integrated
with the 75% RDF + Sunhemp insitu corporation + Azosprillium + Phosphate solubilising
bacteria + Panchagavya + Jeevamrutha over all other treatments applied to the crop.

Rakib et al. (2011) in the experiment conducted in West Bengal noticed that the
significantly higher leaf area was recorded in the treatment where 75% of recommended
dose of NPK + 25% N through FYM was applied and it was found to be at par with
100% recommended dose of fertilizers. On the contrary, it has been observed in another
experiment conducted at Varanasi that with the application of 100% inorganic nitrogen,
significant increase in plant height, leaf area index and dry matter per plant was recorded
as compared to 75% inorganic N + 25% organic N due to rapid availability of plant
nutrients through inorganic sources, as reported by Singh et al. (2011).

Gogoi et al. (2010) conducted an experiment at Jorhat and revealed that

application of 75% recommended dose of fertilizers + 25% N through farmyard manure
produced significantly higher plant height of rice plants than the control plot treatment,
but was statistically at par with 100% of recommended dose of fertilizers. In the same
way Singh et al. (2009) noticed in their research conducted at Varanasi that application of

5
100% nitrogen through inorganic sources registered significantly higher plant height and
leaf area index but exhibited statistical parity with that of 75% nitrogen through inorganic
sources + 25% nitrogen through farmyard manure.

Khan et al. (2009) conducted an experiment in Pakistan and reported that

application of FYM at 20 t ha-1 combined with 60 kg N ha-1 performed better than all
other treatments and resulted in greater emergence, taller plants, more leaf area index.
They also concluded that organic manure application in combination with minimum
selective inorganic fertilizer is an alternative and sustainable practice of soil management
for crop production. Further, in another experiment conducted at Udaipur by Singh and
Nepalia (2009), it was revealed that the application of farmyard manure and
vermicompost significantly improved plant height and leaf area index over no organic
matter application and 100% of recommended dose of fertilizers. Moreover, Panwar
(2008) noticed in his experiment conducted at Meghalaya that the application of 75%
NPK through fertilizer + 25% of N through FYM recorded significantly higher plant
height than that of 100% NPK through fertilizers.

To investigate the response of maizewheat cropping system to different nutrient-

management practices, an experiment was performed at New Delhi by Kumar (2008) and
observed that the application of 120 kg N + 26.2 kg P + 41.5 kg K ha -1 recorded
significantly higher leaf-area index of maize than all the other treatments and exhibited
statistically parity with 120 kg N + 5 kg Zn + 10 t FYM ha -1. While, the application of
100% N through fertilizer resulted in production of tallest plants with largest leaf area
index and highest dry matter production, which were on par with 75% N through
fertilizer along with 25% N through poultry manure or sheep manure or farmyard manure
as concluded by Kumar et al. (2008) in their experiment conducted at Tirupati. Moreover,
it was concluded by Patil et al. (2008) in an experiment conducted on sorghum- chickpea
cropping system at cropping system research project Maharashtra that application of 75%
RDF + FYM + Biofertilizer resulted in significant increase in higher plant height and dry
matter production which was found to be at par with 100% RDF.

As concluded by Sepat and Kumar (2007) in their experiment conducted at New

Delhi, the treatments where 80 kg N + 5 t ha -1 farmyard manure + Azosprillium and 120

6
kg N ha-1 was applied, being at par, recorded significantly higher leaf area index and dry
weight per plant than the remaining nitrogen management levels. However, Kumar et al.
(2007) conducted a field experiment to study the effect of integrated nutrient
management in maize at Karnataka and concluded that the application of FYM @ 10 t
ha-1 recorded lower dry matter production in leaf, stem and cob over the application of
100% of recommended dose of fertilizers. Contrarily in a field experiment conducted at
Main Forage Research Station, Anand by Patel et al. (2007) revealed that application of
100 % RDF + 10 t FYM ha-1 significantly increased the dry matter in fodder crop of
maize over all other treatments except the treatment involving application of 75% RDF +
10 t FYM ha-1 which was found to be at par in dry matter production.

An experiment was conducted at Instructional Farm of the Rajasthan College of

Agriculture, Udaipur to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient supply on maizewheat
cropping system by Verma et al. (2006). In their experiment, significantly higher plant
height and leaf-area index (LAI) of maize were observed by applying 150% of
recommended dose of NPK, which was found to be at par with the treatment having
100% of recommended dose of NPK with FYM @ 10 t ha -1. Contrary to it Saha and
Mondal (2006) in their experiment, carried out at Kalyani, concluded that application of
75% of recommended dose of fertilizers + farmyard manure resulted in significantly
higher plant height than that of 100% of recommended dose of fertilizers.

In the experiment carried out at New Delhi by Kumar et al. (2005), the
application of 100% of recommended dose of NPK along with 10 t ha -1 farmyard manure,
being at par with 100% of recommended dose of NPK recorded higher plant height and
leaf area index as compared to remaining fertility levels except the treatment where 10 t
ha-1 farmyard manure + 50% of recommended dose of NPK was applied to maize and
wheat crops. Further, Karki et al. (2005) noticed in their experiment conducted at New
Delhi that the recommended dose of fertilizers (120 kg N + 26.2 kg P + 41.5 kg K ha -1)
being at par with 120 kg N + 10 t FYM + 5 kg zinc ha -1 recorded significantly higher
plant height and dry-matter accumulation per plant.

Kumpawat (2004) noticed in the experiment conducted at Bhilwara that the

application of 100% recommended dose of N through FYM recorded the maximum plant

7
height of maize plants and remained at par with the treatments having application of
100% recommended dose of NP through fertilizers and 50% of recommended dose of NP
through FYM. Similarly, Luikham et al. (2003) revealed that maximum plant height (165
cm) was recorded with 100% dose of N + 10 t FYM ha -1, which was at par (162 cm)
with 75% dose of N + 10 t FYM ha -1 and both these treatments were significantly
superior over control. The maximum dry matter production (627.17 g/m 2) was recorded
with 100% N + 10 t FYM ha -1 which was significantly superior over rest of the
treatments, which included FYM.

From an experiment conducted at oilseed research station Kangra, Kumar et

al. (2002) stated that maximum plant height of maize plants was achieved by the
application of recommended dose of fertilizer combined along with 10 t FYM.
Contrary to it, from an experiment performed at Ranchi by Pathak et al. (2002) it has
been reported that plant height, leaf-area index, dry-matter accumulation, net
assimilation rate and crop-growth rate of maize showed the best expression in the
treatment involving substitution of 25% inorganic NPK by FYM. It was significantly
higher than the treatment where 100% of recommended dose of fertilizers was
applied. It was followed by the treatment where 50% of the recommended inorganic
NPK was substituted through FYM.

Vadivel et al. (2001) in an experiment at Coimbatore applying different

organic nitrogen sources and concluded that enriched farmyard manure, prepared by
taking 750 kg well decomposed and sieved farmyard manure, mixed with 30 kg P 2O5
and heaped, applied @ 750 kg ha -1 recorded maximum plant height and leaf area
index as compared to Azosprillium and composted coir pith. Further, Rameshwar and
Singh (1998) carried out an experiment at Palampur and noticed that a significant
increase in plant height and dry matter accumulation was observed when FYM @ 10 t
ha-1 was applied to both maize and wheat crops and was higher than that of 100% of
recommended dose of fertilizers.

Effect of INM on yield and yield contributing characters

8
 Yield of a crop is the final result of successful completion of growth and
development of its individual plant which in turn, depends upon rate of carbon
assimilation and conversion into harvestable products.

Bekeko (2014) stated from an experiment conducted in Ethiopia that the grain
yield and harvest index of the hybrid maize increased significantly with the application
of 4 t enriched FYM and 75kg ha -1 N + 60kg ha-1 P over all other treatments applied to
the crop. While, in a long term experiment conducted on maize wheat cropping
sequence at Birsa agriculture university Ranchi, Manjhi et al. (2014) observed that
highest grain yield of maize and wheat was obtained by the application of 50% N
through FYM + 50% RDF which was recorded to be at par with the recommended dose
of fertilizer.

From an experiment conducted on rabi maize at Parbhani, Shinde et al.(2014)

concluded that significant increase in number of cobs per plant, 1000- grain weight, grain
yield and stover yield was attained by maize plants with the application of 100% RDF +
10 t FYM over all other treatments. However, Gupta et al. (2014) from a long term
experiment conducted on maize and gobhi sarson cropping system concluded that 50%
RDF + 50% FYM resulted in significant increase in cob girth, cob length and grain yield
of maize and also resulted in significant increase in yield of gobhi sarson. Moreover, in
an experiment carried out at Karnataka, Patil(2014) explained that highest grain yield and
straw yield of sorghum was obtained with the application of treatment containing 100%
recommended rate of N + 50% recommended rate of N through organic materials(50:50
of Leucaena lopping and FYM) + Azosprillium.

Joshi et al. (2013) in an experiment conducted at instructional farm of the

Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur, Rajasthan stated that the crop produced
significantly higher test weight and grain and stover yield with the conjoin application of
recommended dose of NPK + 10 t FYM ha -1 compared to either inorganic fertilizers
alone or organic sources or 50% of recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers. Further,
from an experiment performed at Palampur, Dutta et al. (2013) revealed that significantly
higher grain yield and stover yield of maize was obtained with the application of
treatment containing 100%RDF + 10 t FYM in a maize wheat cropping system over all

9
other treatments. In a long term experiment conducted at western Ethiopia by Zerihun et
al. (2013) on maize + soybean intercropping concluded that significant grain yield and
biological yield of maize was obtained with the application of 110 kg N + 46 kg P 2O5 +
16 t FYM ha-1 over all other treatments.

In an experiment carried out at Vanavarayar Institute of Agriculture,

Manakkadavu by Kannan et al. (2013) stated that significantly higher cob weight of
maize was achieved by the application of treatment involving RDF + FYM and number
of grains per cob was found to be maximum with the application of RDF +
Vermicompost which was found to be at par with the treatment involving RDF + FYM.
Moreover, Lone et al. (2013) recorded, in their experiment conducted at Kashmir,
significantly higher cob yield, number of cobs per plant and green fodder yield with the
application of farmyard manure @ 6 t ha -1 in combination with 100% RDF than the
application of 100% of recommended dose of fertilizers alone. However, from an
experiment performed by Meena et al. (2013) at Kanpur it was revealed that significantly
higher grain yield and stover yield of maize was obtained with the application of 150 kg
N+ 5 t FYM + Azotobacter inoculation. It was found to be at par with the application of
treatment involving 100 kg N + 5 t FYM + Azotobacter inoculation.

From an experiment conducted in Pakistan Sarwar et al. (2012) concluded that

maximum grain yield and straw yield of maize was obtained by the application of
nutrients 75% through chemical fertilizers + 25% through FYM over all other treatments
applied to the crop. On the contrary, it has been stated by Shilpashree (2012) from an
experiment conducted at College of Agriculture, Navile, Shimoga that a markable
increase in yield attributes like length of cob, girth of cob, test weight, grain yield and
stover yield was obtained with the application of 100% RDF + 7.5 t FYM ha -1 over all
other treatments.

In an experiment performed at Dharwad by Ravi et al. (2012) revealed that

significant grain yield and straw yield was achieved by maize crop by the application of
10 t FYM integrated with the 75% RDF + Sunhemp insitu corporation + Azosprillium +
Phosphate solubilising bacteria + Panchagavya + Jeevamrutha over all other treatments
applied to the crop. However, it has been reported from an experiment conducted by

10
Sharma and Banik (2012) using varied doses of NPK and farmyard manure at Jharkhand
that the application of 70% recommended dose of NPK through inorganic fertilizers +
30% N through farmyard manure recorded significantly higher grain yield of rice than the
recommended dose of NPK through fertilizers only. On the contrary, during the year 2010
Singh et al. (2012) conducted an experiment at Udaipur, in which they observed that the
significantly higher grain yield and stover yield of maize was recorded when the crop was
supplied with FYM @ 10 t ha-1 enriched with 150% of RDF, which was found to be at
par with conventional practice and FYM @ 10 t ha-1 enriched with 100% of RDF.

From an experiment carried out by Khaswa et al. (2012) at CSK agriculture

university Palmpur on maize + frenchbean intercropping it was concluded that grain yield
and straw yield of maize and yield of frenchbean increased significantly with the
application of 5 t FYM + 100% RDF of maize + 50% RDF of frenchbean as compared to
all other treatments applied to the cropping system. While, it was stated from an
experiment performed at Varanasi by Singh et al. (2011) that significantly superior values
of yield attributes and yield viz. baby cob weight, cobs per plant, baby corn girth, and
yield of baby cob, baby corn and fodder were recorded with application of 100%
inorganic N over integrated nutrients applied as 50% inorganic N + 50% organic N and
75% inorganic N + 25% organic N.

Balal et al. (2011) conducted an experiment at Udaipur and recorded significant

increase in cob weight, cob length, weight of grains per cob, grain and stover yield when
100% of recommended dose of NPK + 10 t FYM ha -1 was applied as compared to all the
other treatments and was at par with 150% of recommended dose of NPK. However,
Rakib et al. (2011) in their experiment conducted at Sriniketan, recorded maximum
length of cobs with the application of treatment where 75% N through fertilizers + 25%
N through FYM was applied and it was statistically at par with 100% of recommended
dose of fertilizers. However, the highest yield of husked baby corn was recorded when
75% of N through fertilizers + 25% N through FYM was applied and it was significantly
higher than the application of 100% of recommended dose of fertilizers.

Significantly higher grain and straw yield was noted with the application of 30 t
FYM ha-1 + 90 kg ha-1 nitrogen compared to all the other treatments as observed by Jan

11
et al. (2011). However, it has been reported from an experiment performed at Meghalaya
by Das et al. (2010) that maize grain yield recorded with 50% NPK + FYM @ 5 t ha -1
was found to be at par with 100% NPK + FYM @ 2.5 t ha -1 but significant over 100% of
recommended dose of NPK. Similarly, it was observed in an experiment conducted at
Varanasi that the application of 75% nitrogen through fertilizer and 25% nitrogen through
farmyard manure was statistically at par with 100% nitrogen through fertilizer and
registered significantly higher values for baby corn weight per cob, number of cobs per
plant, baby corn girth and baby corn yield over 50% nitrogen through fertilizer and 50%
nitrogen through FYM, as reported by Singh et al. (2010).

In an experiment performed by Kumar et al. (2009) at Tirupati having different

nutrient sources, it was revealed that the application of 100 per cent nitrogen through
fertilizers gained significantly higher baby corn yield which was at par with 75 per cent
nitrogen through fertilizer along with 25 per cent nitrogen through farmyard manure. On
the contrary, Singh and Nepalia (2009) conducted an experiment at Udaipur and
concluded that application of farmyard manure @ 10 t ha-1 significantly increased yield
attributes and yield of quality protein maize over no organic matter application and was
also higher than the application of 100% of recommended dose of fertilizers. Moreover,
Khan et al. (2009) reported from an experiment carried out in Pakistan that application of
20 t FYM ha-1 combined with 60 kg N ha-1 performed better than all other treatments and
resulted in significantly higher thousand-grain weight, greater grain and biological yields.
They concluded that organic manure application in combination with minimum selective
inorganic fertilizer is an alternative and sustainable practice of soil management for crop
production.

A field experiment was conducted at New Delhi by Kumar (2008) in which grain
yield recorded with the application of recommended dose of fertilizers (120 kg N + 26.2
kg P + 41.5 kg K ha-1), was at par with 120 kg N ha-1 + 10 t FYM ha-1. However, Panwar
(2008) revealed from an experiment conducted at Meghalaya that maximum maize yield
was recorded with the application of 75% NPK through fertilizer and 25% substitution
with farmyard manure and it was significantly higher than the application of 100% of
recommended dose of NPK through fertilizers. While, in an experiment conducted on

12
sorghum by Kumar et al. (2008) at forage research farm Hisar concluded that application
of 100% RDF resulted in significant increase in fodder yield of sorghum while it
remained at par with the application of 75% RDF + 25% FYM.

It was concluded by Patil et al. (2008) in an experiment conducted on sorghum-

chickpea cropping system at cropping system research project Maharashtra that
application of 75% RDF + FYM + Biofertilizer resulted in significant increase in yield
attributes, fodder and grain yield which was found to be at par with 100% RDF.
Moreover, it has been reported from an experiment performed at Tirupati by Kumar et al.
(2008) to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and
quality of baby corn that the number of cobs per plant, weight per cob, cob length and
baby corn yield was higher with the application of 100% of recommended dose of N
through fertilizer, which was, however, statistically at par with the application of 75% of
recommended dose of N through fertilizer along with 25% N through poultry manure or
sheep manure or farmyard manure.

In an experiment conducted on baby corn and chick pea sequence at Raichur it

was revealed by Ashok et al. (2008) that application of RDF + 25 kg ZnSO4 + 10 kg
FeSO4+ 35 kg VC ha-1 resulted in significant increase in length of baby corn, girth of
baby corn, baby corn weight, baby corn yield and green fodder yield and it was found to
be at par with the application of RDF + 25 kg ZnSO 4 + 10 kg FeSO4 + 35 kg FYM ha-1.
However, Thavaprakaash and Velayudham (2007) indicated in their experiment carried
out at Coimbatore that combined application of FYM incorporated with 50% of
recommended dose of NPK through inorganic fertilizers and bio-fertilizers resulted in
higher baby corn yield and fodder yield than that with inorganic fertilizers alone

Sepat and Kumar (2007) carried an experiment at New Delhi and observed a
significant increase in grain yield with the application of 120 kg N ha -1 and it remained
statistically at par with the treatments having 40 kg N + 5 t FYM ha -1 + Azosprillium, 80
kg N ha-1 and 80 kg N ha-1 + 5 t FYM ha-1 + Azosprillium. Contrary to it, in an experiment
conducted at Almora using different organic manures, it was noticed that plots receiving
chemical fertilizers produced significantly higher baby corn yield as compared to organic
treatments like farmyard manure, poultry manure and vermicompost as reported by Saha

13
et al. (2007). Moreover, Kumar et al. (2007) in the field experiment conducted to study
the effect of integrated nutrient management in maize at Karnataka, recorded that grain
yield was higher where 100% of RDF was applied over the application of FYM @ 10 t
ha-1.

From a field experiment conducted at Main Forage Research Station, Anand,

Patel et al. (2007) revealed that application of 100 % RDF + 10 t FYM ha -1 significantly
increased the green forage yield of forage maize and it was found to be at par with the
application of 75% RDF + 10 t FYM. Moreover, Saha and Mondal (2006) conducted an
experiment applying inorganic and organic sources of nutrients at Kalyani and reported
that the application of 75% of recommended dose of fertilizers along with farmyard
manure was significantly effective in increasing baby corn weight, dehusked corn yield
and fodder yield over the application of 100% recommended dose of fertilizers. While,
Brar et al. (2006) conducted an experiment at PAU, Ludhiana, and has shown that the
crop yield of both maize and wheat increased significantly with recommended dose of
NPK, but it was highest where farmyard manure was applied along with inorganic
fertilizers.

Significantly higher maize grain yield over the control was recorded when crop
was fertilized with 150% of recommended dose of NPK, which was found to be at par
with the application of 100% of recommended dose of NPK along with 10 t FYM ha -1 as
reported by Verma et al. (2006) in their experiment conducted at Udaipur. Similarly,
Karki et al. (2005) conducted an experiment at New Delhi and revealed that the
recommended dose of fertilizers (120 kg N + 26.2 kg P + 41.5 kg K ha -1) being at par
with 120 kg N + 10 t FYM ha -1 gave the higher grain yield compared with the remaining
fertility levels.

In an experiment conducted at IARI, New Delhi by Kumar et al. (2005), it was

noticed that the application of 50% of recommended dose of NPK along with 10 t FYM
ha-1 to the maize crop gave the number of cobs per plant, cob length, cob girth, number of
grains per cob, 1000 grain weight and grain yield similar to 100% recommended dose of
NPK application through fertilizers. Further, Oad et al. (2004) noted significantly higher

14
maize fodder yield with the application of 120 kg N ha -1 with combination of 3000 kg
ha-1 of farmyard manure.

Kumar et al.(2002) stated from an experiment conducted at oilseed research

station, Kangra revealed that yield and yield attributes, viz. days to silking, cobs (000 ha-1),
grains per cob were found to be maximum by the application of recommended dose of
fertilizer along with 10 t of FYM. On contrary to this, Yield attributes, viz. cobs per
plant, cob length and cob girth were found maximum in the treatment getting 75% N
through inorganic fertilizers and the balance 25% N substituted through FYM and
remained at par with 100% of recommended dose of NPK as reported by Pathak et al.
(2002) from the experiment performed at Ranchi. Similarly, in another experiment,
application of 75% recommended NPK + 6 t FYM ha -1 registered the grain yield
statistically at par with 100% recommended NPK as concluded by Nanjappa et al. (2001)
at Bangalore

An experiment was conducted at Coimbatore using different organic nitrogen

sources by Vadivel et al. (2001) and it was reported that application of enriched farmyard
manure @ 750 kg ha-1 significantly increased the cob length, cob girth, cob weight,
nitrogen uptake and grain yield of maize as compared to Azosprillium and composted coir
pith and was comparable with the treatment having 40 kg N ha -1. However, Vasanthi and
Kumaraswamy (2000) in their experiment conducted at Madurai, revealed that the
treatment that received FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + 50% NPK was significantly higher than that
of 100% NPK in gaining green fodder yield.

Sahoo and Panda (1999) revealed that highest grain yield was recorded with the
application of FYM @ 5 t ha-1 along with recommended dose of NPK fertilizers. Similarly,
to study the effect of FYM and fertilizer on the growth and development of maize, an
experiment was performed at Palampur by Rameshwar and Singh (1998) and they
observed that the grain yield in maize crop was higher with the incorporation of FYM @
10 t ha-1 as compared to 100% of recommended dose of NPK. While, in an experiment
conducted at regional agriculture research station of Sher-e- Kashmir University of Jammu
and Kashmir Sharma and Gupta (1998) reported that application of 75% NPK + 25% N

15
through FYM resulted in highest grain yield of maize in a maize wheat cropping system
which was found to be at par with 100% recommended dose of NPK.

Barewadia and Patel (1996) reported that combined application of farmyard

manure @ 5t ha-1 along with nitrogen @ 60 kg ha-1 gave significantly higher grain yield
than farmyard manure applied with 45 and 30 kg nitrogen ha -1. In the same way, Suresh
and Mathur (1989) reported that the application of farmyard manure along with fertilizers
had significant improvement on the yield parameters, quality of grains and maize grain
yield over control.

Effect of INM on quality characters

Quality parameter play a significant role in determining nutrition value of the

baby corn and also helps in fetching good price of the produce in the market. Singh et al.
(2014) concluded from an experiment carried out at Pantnagar that a significant increase
in crude protein content of sorghum was observed with the application of 50% FYM +
50% RDF over the application of 100% RDF. Moreover, from an experiment conducted
on wheat at Egypt, Essam and Lattief (2014) concluded that protein content in wheat
grains was significantly higher with the application of 25% dose of recommended NPK +
9 t FYM over control, while, it was found to be at par with 100% recommended dose of
NPK. Similarly, It was observed by Shinde et al. (2014) from an experiment conducted
on Rabi maize at Parbhani that significant increase in protein percent, protein yield and
protein production efficiency was recorded with the application of 100% RDF + 5 t FYM
over all other treatments whereas it has shown statistical parity with the treatment
receiving 100% RDF.

From an experiment conducted at Kanpur it was revealed by Meena et al. (2013)

that application of 5 t FYM + 150 kg N + 75 kg P + 40 kg K + 5 kg Zn + Azotobacter ha-1
resulted in significant increase in protein content in maize crop. On contrary, Chavarekar
et al. (2013) revealed from an experiment conducted at Hisar that application of 100%
RDF through inorganic N resulted in significant increase in protein content of barley as
compared to the application of various combinations of inorganic N + FYM. Moreover,
Sharma et al. (2013) concluded from an experiment conducted at Jabalpur that protein

16
content of wheat crop was significantly higher with the application of 100% RDF over
the application of nutrients through 50% RDF + 50% FYM.

Khan et al. (2013) conducted an experiment at Faisalabad, Pakistan and revealed

that protein content of maize seeds was significantly higher with the application of 75%
N from urea + 25% N from FYM + rhizobacteria over the application of control plot
while, it was found to be at par with the application of 100% RDF. However, Verma
(2013) stated from an experiment conducted at Hamirpur, that a application of 7.5 t FYM
+ 100 kg inorganic N resulted in significant increase in protein content of maize grains
over the all other treatments applied to the maize crop. Similarly, Lone et al. (2013)
concluded from an experiment conducted at Kashmir, that a marked increase in TSS
content of baby corn was observed with the application of 6 t FYM + 150% RDF ha -1
with respect to the other treatments applied to the crop. Moreover, Singh et al. (2012)
from an experiment conducted at Udaipur confirmed that application of 10 t enriched
FYM + 150% RDF resulted in significant increase in protein content of maize grains over
all other treatments applied.

From an experiment conducted at Udaipur Balal et al. (2011) concluded that a

significant increase in protein percentage of maize was observed with the application of
treatment involving 100% NPK + 10 t FYM ha -1 over all other treatments applied. While,
Singh et al. (2011) from an experiment conducted at Varanasi revealed that application of
100% N through inorganic fertilizer resulted in highest protein percentage, starch
percentage and sugar percentage which was found to be statistically at par with the
application of 75% NPK through inorganic + 25% through organic sources.

In an experiment conducted at Varanasi, Singh et al. (2010) recorded that

application of 100% NPK resulted in significant increase in carbohydrate percentage,
starch percentage, protein percentage and sugar percentage of baby corn over all other
treatments however, it show statistical parity with the application of 75% NPK + 25%
FYM. On contrary, Tiwana and Chaudhary (2009) revealed from an experiment
conducted at Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana that application of 100%
recommended dose of fertilizer resulted in significantly higher crude protein content in
fodder crop of sorghum over the application of integrated nutrient management.

17
 Shah et al. (2010) stated from an experiment conducted at Pakistan that a
significant increase in protein content of grains and stover of maize crop was observed
with the application of 50% mineral N + 50% FYM as compared to100% recommended
dose of mineral N. However, Kumar et al. (2008) revealed from an experiment conducted
at Tirupati that application of N 25% through inorganic source + 75% through FYM
resulted in significant increase in protein percentage, total sugars percentage over the
application of 100% N through inorganic source. On the other hand Kumar et al. (2008)
concluded from an experiment conducted at Hissar that crude protein content of sorghum
was significantly higher with the application of 100% recommended dose of fertilizer
over all other treatmants.

From an experiment conducted at West Bengal, Saha and Mondal (2006)

concluded that application of 75% RDF + 25% FYM resulted in significant increase in
protein content of baby corn as compared to the application of 100% RDF. Moreover,
Shah and Ahmad (2006) conducted an experiment at Pakistan and concluded that a
significant increase in nitrogen content in grains and straw of wheat was recorded over all
other treatments applied to the wheat crop. While, Karki et al. (2005) stated from an
experiment at IARI, New Delhi that the application of 120kg N + 10 t FYM + 5 kg Zn ha -1
resulted in significant increase in nitrogen percentage in grains and stover of the maize
crop over all other treatments.

It was concluded from an experiment conducted at Karnataka by Ramachandrappa

et al. (2004) that a significant increase in protein content, sugar content and crude fiber of
baby corn was observed with the application of 150 kg N + 75 kg P + 40 kg K + 10 t
FYM over all other treatments applied to the baby corn. Moreover, Vasanthi and
Kumaraswamy (2000) revealed from an experiment conducted on fodder crops at
Madurai that application of 10 t FYM + 100% NPK resulted in significant increase in
nitrogen content in fodder crops of sorghum, maize and pearlmillet as compared to the
application of 100% recommended dose of NPK. In the same way, Ramamurthy and
Shivashankar (1996) conducted an experiment at Karnataka and observed that application
of 10 t FYM in conjugation with 56.25 kg P ha -1 increased the protein content of maize
significantly over the all other treatments applied to the maize crop.

18