ROLE OF PHOSPHORUS APPLICATION TO THE SOIL AND FOLIAR ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF MAIZE

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the field of college of Agriculture – Univ. of Baghdad in Abu – Ghraib during the spring season of 2008 in silty clay loam soil texture classification as a Typic Torrifluvent. This was to study the role of applying phosphorus fertilizer to soil and with foliar feeding on growth and grain yield of maize, cv. Bohooth 106. Three levels of phosphorus 0, 40 and 60 kg P.ha-1 were added to soil and three concentrations 0, 3000 and 6000 mg P.l-1 were used as foliar. Triplesuperphosphate (20% P) was used as phosphorus source. A randomized complete block design was used with three replications. A fixed amounts of N and K were used they were 200 kg N.ha-1 as urea (46% N) and 160 kg K.ha-1 as potassium chloride (50% K) as source for N and K respectively. Results showed that the interaction treatment of 40 kg P.ha-1 added to the soil and 3000 m P.l-1 as foliar feeding had significant results and had the superiority to give the highest value of leaf area, dry weight and grain yield of plant. They were 0.602 m2 and 246.10 g.plant-1 and 136.60 g.plant-1 for the above mentioned parameters, respectively and gave the increasing percentage ratios 30.30% and 15.55% for the leaf area, 44.63% and 9.83% for the plant dry weight and 60.95% and 12.43 for the grain weight of plant respectively compared with the control treatment (without application to soil and without foliar feeding) and compared with the 60 kg P.ha-1 added to the soil + 3000 mg P.l-1 as foliar respectively.