The Impact of Varying Concentrations of Bio and Organic Fertilisers, as Well as the Application of Neutral Nano-Fertilizer (N-P-K), on Maize Growth and Harvest

Abstract A field experiment was conducted in Babylon province / Al-Mussaib project during the 2023 agricultural season to study the effect of bio and organic fertilization and nano-fertilizer spraying stages on Maize. It was applied as a split-split plot experiment according to the R.C.B.D. complete randomized block design with three factors. The main plots included three different stages of spraying of balanced nano-fertilizer NPK (20:20:20) with a concentration of (2) g.L -1 , sprayed on the vegetative parts of the plants after one month of planting the seeds. The sub-plots included four levels of organic matter (control treatment, cow waste 8 tons. ha -1 , palm frond waste 8 tons. ha -1 , cow waste mixture 4 tons. ha -1 + Palm frond waste 4 tons ha -1 , the sub-sub-plots included four levels of biofertilizer with the control treatment, without biofertilization (control), fungal biofertilization (Mycorrhizae: Glomus mosseae), and bacterial biofertilization: which are A mixture of three types of bacteria: (Azotobacter chroococcum, Bacillus mucilaginosus, Pseudomonas fluorescens), a mixture of (fungal biofertilization + bacterial biofertilization). The results showed the excelled of the triple(A3B1C3) interaction of the combination consisting of (spraying stage (S8+S10) with the addition of 8 tons of cow waste ha -1 with the addition of the treatment (bacteria + fungus from the biofertilizer) significantly increased the vegetative growth and yield components traits and gave the highest average in Plant height (215.35 cm), Leaf area (6494.5cm 2 ), Biological yield (18.843 tons.ha -1 ) and Harvest Index (52.98%). The study concluded that bio and organic fertilization, either alone or in combination, can stimulate microbial activity and increase the availability of nutrients in the soil, and that the use of bio and organic fertilizers + nano-fertilizers can be used as an alternative fertilizer to reduce the consumption of chemical fertilizers.