RESPONSE OF MAIZE PHENOLOGY AND HARVEST INDEX TO TILLAGE AND POULTRY MANURE

Agronomic practices can improve the phenological characteristics of crops leading to greater harvestable yield. Two year field experiment was carried out on a clay loam soil to quantify the effect of different tillage practices, zero tillage (T1), minimum tillage (T2), conventional tillage (T3) and deep tillage (T4), under the application of different levels of poultry manure (PM1= zero, PM2= 5, PM3= 10, Mg ha^-1) on the phenology of maize in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Days to tasseling, days to silking, tassel length and ear height were measured at the physiological maturity while days to full maturity and harvest index were measured at crop harvest during both years of study. Significantly more number of days to tasseling (52.2 and 56.2) and silking (54.6 and 56.6), more days to maturity (112.5 and 118) and greater tassel length (47.7 and 51.2 cm) were measured in the zero tillage sown crop than the other tillage practices during 2010 and 2011, respectively. More ear height position on the maize stem (85.5 and 105.5 cm), grain yield (7.9 and 9.2 tons ha^-1) and maximum harvest index (46.5 and 48.3 %) were recorded in the deep tillage practice during the both years of study. Increasing poultry manure rate to the maize crop significantly increased the number of days to tasseling, days to silking and maturity, tassel length, ear height, grain yield and harvest index. This study results indicate that the tillage practices along with poultry manure application can help in achieving the full yield potential of a maize crop.