EFFECT OF PHOSPHORUS AND HERBICIDE ON YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF MAIZE

To evaluate different levels of phosphorus i.e. 60, 90 120 and 150 kg ha-1 and application of herbicide (Primextra-Gold @ 3 L ha-1 as pre-emergence and 1.5 L ha-1 as post-emergence) in maize crop, an experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Institute (ARI), Dera Ismail Khan during the year 2009. The results revealed that application of various doses of phosphorous along with Primextra-Gold significantly affected weed density, leaves per plant, 1000-grain weight, biomass and grain yield of maize. The combination of 120 kg ha-1 of phosphorus and pre-emergence herbicide application gave highest grain yield of 2522 kg ha-1 as compared to other treatments. Application of phosphorous @ 90 kg ha-1 and preemergence of herbicide application also gave higher maize yield than untreated control. On the basis of results obtained, the use of 120 kg ha-1 phosphorus and pre-emergence application of Primextra-Gold @ 3 L ha-1 is recommended for higher maize yield in Dera Ismail Khan.