The Response of Maize Lines to Foliar Fertilizing

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of two foliar fertilizers applied on fivemaize (Zea maysL.) lines. Fertilizers were applied at different growth stages of maize, during threeconsecutive years (2010–2012) at the experimental field of the Maize Research Institute “Zemun Polje”,Serbia. Maize growth parameters such as fresh matter, height, leaf area and grain yield were recorded.Foliar fertilizer with amino acids (FAA) was more advantageous to maize plants compared to fertilizercontaining phosphorus (FP) as a main component. Applied FAA has shown positive effects byincreasing fresh matter, leaf area index, and plant height in all three years. In 2012, due to unfavorablemeteorological conditions, grain yield and harvest index were very low, compared to the previoustwo years, although, positive effects on morphological traits were observed 21 days after treatments(DAT), as well as in the anthesis stage. The best results of 30% of grain yield and harvest indexincrease were recorded in line L1 in 2010 and 2011. The same line had an increase of more than 40%of fresh matter and leaf area on average for all three years. The positive effects that have been noticedin this research could recommend foliar fertilizing with fertilizer containing N in a form of an aminoacids complex.