Section 3 (Crop Management)

Proceedings of the 8 th Asian Regional Maize Workshop, Bangkok, Thailand: August 5-8, 2002
Synchronization of Nitrogen Requirements in Maize/Millet Relay
Cropping System in Mid-Hill Condition of Nepal
P. R. Shakya, B.N. Adhikari, R. P. Upreti and S. Thapa
Hill Crop Research Programme (HCRP) Kabre, Dolakha, Nepal
Abstract
An experiment on synchronizing of nitrogen requirement in maize (Zea mays) /millet (Eleusine
coracana Geartn) relay-cropping system was carried out in the Hill Crop Research Program (HCRP),
Kabre, (1740 masl), Dolakha during the summer season of 2000 and 2001 to identify the optimum time of
nitrogen application for higher yield of both crops in mid hill condition of Nepal. In addition to 10 ton
compost, chemical fertilizer was applied @60:30:30 NPK kg/ha in all treatments. Compost was
incorporated in the soil at the time of land preparation and all phosphorus and potash was applied at the
time of maize planting. Splitting of nitrogen and time of its application was done to make eight different
treatments and nitrogen was applied accordingly. The experiment was conducted in a RCB design with
four replications in 6.0 m2 plots. The highest maize grain yield (5951 kg/ha) was produced by the
treatment T2 followed by (5680 kg/ha) with the treatment T8. The lowest maize grain yield (4327 kg/ha)
was obtained by T1. Likewise, the highest finger millet grain yield (977 kg/ha) was produced by T6
followed by (906 kg/ha) with the treatment T2. The lowest millet grain yield (715 kg/ha) was obtained in
the treatment T1.
Introduction
Maize (Zea mays) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana Geartn) are the first and third important staple
food crops grown under diverse cropping pattern and environments in the mid hills (1000-2000 masl) of
Nepal. Maize /finger millet relay cropping system is predominant in the upland (bari land) of the mid
hills. The area under maize and millet are 824525 ha and 2,59888 ha respectively. About 28% of the total
maize area in Nepal is relayed/inter cropped with finger millet (Palikhe, 2000). The productivity of maize
and millet are 1.79 t/ha and 1.08 t/ha respectively (2000/2001 CBS). The yield of maize is quite low as
compared to other Asian countries, due to lack of high yielding varieties, unavailability of improved seed
and inadequate supply of plant nutrients. There are other biotic and abiotic factors as well affecting the
crop yield in the hills (Priyadarsi et al., 2000).
Compost and farmyard manure (FYM) are the major sources of plant nutrient in the hills. However,
the consumption of chemical fertilizers is also increasing steadily. The application of FYM is in declining
trend due to decreasing forest resources and increasing labor cost. Nevertheless, farmers are developing
habit of applying urea in the form of top dressing on maize at the time of earthing up maize plant. Now
the main concern from farmers point of view is how much nitrogenous (urea) fertilizer should apply and
what is the right time to apply so that a maximum yield can be obtained. Since the cost of chemical
fertilizers is increasing and at the same time it is very important to improve the efficiency of applied
nitrogenous fertilizers. Since nitrogenous fertilizers are subjected to loss through leaching, volatilization
and de-nitrification. A large number of farmers will be benefited if we could provide information on right
time and amount of urea fertilizer application. This will also save the expensive fertilizers and reduce the
detrimental effect on soil environment. The objective of the study was to find out the right time and
splitting of nitrogen dose in maize on maize/millet cropping system.
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