Performance of maize cultivars under varied nitrogen levels in the rainfed Shivalik foothills of Jammu and Kashmir

Field trials were conducted during the kharif seasons of 2019, 2020 and 2021 at the Research Farm of the Advanced Centre for Rainfed Agriculture (ACRA), Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST)-Jammu, Rakh Dhiansar, to investigate the performance of maize cultivars under rainfed conditions of the Shivalik foothills of Jammu and Kashmir. The experimental treatments included two maize cultivars, Mansar and Jammu Maize Composite-3 (JMC-3), evaluated at 4 nitrogen (N) levels: 0, 60, 75 and 90 kg ha-1. The study was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications to ensure statistical accuracy, where N levels were assigned to the main plots and maize cultivars were assigned to subplots. The results showed that the maize composite JMC-3 had a pronounced and significant influence on both growth and yield parameters compared with the Mansar variety. Regarding nutrient management, an N level of 90 kg ha-1 yielded significantly higher values for growth, yield attributes and overall grain yield; however, these results were statistically at par with the N level of 75 kg ha-1. Economic analysis also showed that higher N levels improved net returns and the B:C ratio, with JMC-3 showing superior economic performance. Consequently, this study concluded that the JMC-3 maize composite can be successfully cultivated by increasing the N dose to 75 kg ha-1. This agronomic strategy is recommended for achieving higher productivity and profitability under the specific rainfed sub-montane conditions of the Jammu region.