Impact of nano-chelated micronutrients and biological fertilizers on growth performance and grain yield of maize under deficit irrigation condition

Abstract

Sustainable crop production is required for the semi-arid areas, and it will be achieved by the wise use of several production inputs which must be tailored to the unique conditions of each district. Effective nutrient management and irrigation are just two parts of the  crop production puzzle. It seems that nano-fertilizers may have high potential for achieving sustainable crop production. A field experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of adding different fertilizers on maize (S.C 704 Hybrid) growth under various irrigation regimes in Moghan, northwest of Iran. The experiment included three irrigation levels (up to ~100, ~50, and ~25% field capacity) which were applied from the beginning of the reproductive period. During the vegetative period, all plants were fully irrigated. Fertilizer treatments included control (no-fertilizer application), N  biofertilizer, P  biofertilizer, nano-chelated  B, nano-chelated  Zn, complete nanofertilizer, and bulk NPK fertilizer. Investigation of morphophysiological traits such as leaf area, ear length, ear diameter, relative water content, and chlorophyll content revealed that application of complete micronutrients, bulk NPK, and nano-chelated Zn significantly improved these traits over the control. A similar status was recorded for grain yield and yield components. Results indicated that although irrigation up to ~25% of field capacity (FC) reduced the grain yield compared to the control, there was not observed any significant difference between normal irrigation and ~50% FC. The best plant performance was recorded for plants grown by complete nanofertilizer under optimum or ~50% FC. Deficient irrigation up to ~50% FC could be assigned as an appropriate water management strategy in semi-arid regions to minimize water losses through evaporation and achieve higher water use efficiency. In conclusion, a combination of precision deficient irrigation and application of nanofertilizers play a critical role for enhancing the efficient use of water and improving the productivity of maize production systems in Mediterranean semi-arid regions.