COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON SOIL HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY OF MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L)

Abstract

Vegetable production systems in semi-arid region are highly dependent on integrated nutrients management in ensuring a crop is productive without compromising soil health. The present experiment tested and compared the effects of organic, inorganic, and integrated fertilizer management on growth, yield, and soil quality of maize (Zea mays L.) at Department of Agronomy, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan during the 2024 cropping season. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was adopted with three replicates having six treatments control, farmyard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM), inorganic NPK, FYM+NPK and PM+NPK. It was found that the integrated treatments improved vegetative growth significantly; the height of plants reached 212 + 10.6 cm and 3250 + 162.5 cm2 areas of leaves in PM+NPK, whereas values were 180 + 9.0 cm and 2500 + 125.0 cm2 in control. Actual biomass amount, number of leaves, and the diameter of the stem tended in the same direction. Integrated fertilization significantly increased grain yield, with PM+NPK giving 4.3 +/- 0.21 t/ha, an increase of 43 per cent compared with the control. The components of yield such as number of grains per cob, and 1000-grain weight were similarly maximized. Integrated nutrient management showed positive results on soil parameters; greater soil organic content (1.3 and 1.35 percent), available nitrogen (0.14 and 0.15 mg kg -1 ) and microbial enzyme activities (dehydrogenase and urease), and only limited adverse changes in soil pH due to sole use of inorganic fertilizers. The results are evidences that organic and inorganic fertilizers when synergistically used help enhance the maize production as well as soils fertility. The choice of integrated fertilization as a sustainable technique in semi-arid maize production finds relevance in the study by addressing the tension between high crop yield on the one hand and long-term soil conservation on the other. The results give viable counsel on nutrient management endeavors on the development of better food security, and eco-friendly agriculture in poverty-stricken areas.