Effect of different biostimulants on growth parameters of maize in red soils of Karnataka

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of maize upon applicaton of different biostimulants namely, humic acid extracted from FYM, Spirulina algal extract and microbial consortia in red soils of zone 6 of Karnataka during Kharif 2018 on sandy loam soil at college of Agriculture, V.C. Farm, Mandya. The experiment was laid out in RCBD with thirteen treatments including control, 100% RDF, 100% RDF + microbial consortia (MC), 100% RDF + MC + humic acid @ 0.25 and 0.50%, 100% RPP + MC + algal extract @ 10 and 20% and the above treatments were repeated with 75% RPP. Results revealed that application of biostimulants had a significant effect on growth of maize. Foliar application of algal extract at 30 and 45 DAS was performing better than other treatments. Higher plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, SPAD reading and dry matter accumulation was recorded in the treatment receiving 100% RPP with microbial consortia and algal extract (T6 and T7) which might due to the effect of plant growth regulators present in the biostimulants.