Ankit Labana, Matukdhari Singh, Ajanta Borah, Kamal Kumar Suthar, Lekhani Soni and Narendra Patidar
Abstract
The present investigation titled âEconomic Evaluation of Maize (Zea mays L.) as Influenced by Soil Nutrient Availability and BenefitâCost Ratio under the Malwa Regionâ. The present experiment was conducted at Research Farm, under Mandsaur University, Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh). Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh) which is situated at latitude 24 0C 4â36.61ââN, longitude 7504â9.46ââ E and at an altitude of 442.16 meters above the mean sea level. The experiment involved two main plot treatments: B1 for flat bed sowing and B2 for raised bed sowing. There were four sub-plot treatments based on spacing: S1 for broadcasting, S2 for 30Ã25 cm spacing, S3 for 45Ã25 cm spacing, and S4 for 60Ã25 cm spacing. The treatment combinations were as follows: T1: Flat bed + Broadcasting (B1S1), T2: Flat bed + 30Ã25 cm spacing (B1S2), T3: Flat bed + 45Ã25 cm spacing (B1S3), T4: Flat bed + 60Ã25 cm spacing (B1S4),T5: Raised bed + Broadcasting (B2S1), T6: Raised bed + 30Ã25 cm spacing (B2S2), T7: Raised bed + 45Ã25 cm spacing (B2S3) and T8: Raised bed + 60Ã25 cm spacing (B2S4). There were eight treatments in total, and the experiment was conducted in 24 plots. The gross plot size 4.0 Ã 5.0 = 20 m2 and net plot size was 3.5 Ã4.5 = 15.75 m2. The gross plot area was calculated to be 383 m2. The seed rate used for the experiment was 25 kg per hectare. Results revealed that the raised bed sowing method significantly enhanced the availability of major soil nutrients- nitrogen (278.6 kg/ha), phosphorus (24.2 kg/ha), and potassium (230.5 kg/ha) as compared to the flat bed method. Raised bed sowing with 60Ã25 cm spacing (T8) recorded the maximum availability of nutrients, with 292.5 kg/ha of nitrogen, 26.5 kg/ha of phosphorus, and 242.0 kg/ha of potassium. Flat bed sowing with broadcasting (T1), which resulted in 255.3 kg/ha of nitrogen, 20.2 kg/ha of phosphorus, and 210.4 kg/ha of potassium. From an economic standpoint, the treatment Raised bed sowing with 60Ã25 cm spacing (T8) yielded the highest gross return (Rs 91,000/ha), net return (Rs 44,000/ha), and benefit-cost ratio (1.94). Conversely, the Flat bed sowing with broadcasting (T1) recorded the lowest gross return (Rs 56,000/ha), net return (Rs 14,000/ ha), and B:C ratio (1.33). These findings clearly demonstrate that raised bed sowing combined with wider spacing (60Ã25 cm) is a superior agronomic strategy for enhancing both nutrient availability and profitability in maize cultivation under the agro-climatic conditions of the Malwa region.