Table 1.

Growth characters of maize at different growth stages as affected by sowing methods and NPK levels.

Treatments	Growth stages (2011)				Growth stages (2012)
	Knee high	Tasseling	Silking	Maturity	Knee high	Tasseling	Silking	Maturity
Plant height (cm)
S1 (flat sowing)	54.28	159.83	166.36	171.35	55.08	160.60	168.35	172.42
S2 (ridge sowing)	56.72	165.38	173.22	177.45	57.41	166.80	173.23	178.24
SE(m) ±	0.65	0.76	0.93	0.93	0.55	0.83	0.90	0.96
CD (p = 0.05)	1.89	2.34	2.87	2.89	1.71	2.56	2.78	2.98
F1 (60 : 40 : 20)	51.28	157.63	163.94	165.47	52.25	158.17	162.59	167.22
F2 (75 : 50 : 30)	57.04	164.28	171.07	177.31	57.25	165.07	173.36	177.92
F3 (90 : 60 : 40)	58.33	165.91	174.36	180.42	59.23	167.86	176.42	180.85
SE(m) ±	0.75	0.93	1.15	1.15	0.68	1.02	1.11	1.19
CD (p = 0.05)	2.33	2.89	3.54	3.57	2.11	3.16	3.44	3.68
Leaf area index
S1 (flat sowing)	1.58	2.44	2.18	1.66	1.61	2.48	2.22	1.67
S2 (ridge sowing)	1.77	2.73	2.54	1.92	1.79	2.79	2.59	1.89
SE(m) ±	0.04	0.03	0.04	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.03
CD (p = 0.05)	0.14	0.10	0.12	0.12	0.09	0.11	0.11	0.09
F1 (60 : 40 : 20)	1.12	1.79	1.66	1.04	1.15	1.93	1.60	1.10
F2 (75 : 50 : 30)	1.93	2.96	2.70	2.16	1.96	2.96	2.78	2.06
F3 (90 : 60 : 40)	1.96	3.01	2.72	2.17	1.98	3.00	2.82	2.19
SE(m) ±	0.05	0.04	0.04	0.04	0.03	0.04	0.04	0.03
CD (p = 0.05)	0.17	0.12	0.15	0.14	0.11	0.13	0.13	0.11
Dry matter production (q ha−1)
S1 (flat sowing)	6.83	41.21	66.86	98.72	7.00	43.52	69.13	103.47
S2 (ridge sowing)	7.10	46.27	72.01	109.09	7.45	47.15	74.46	110.77
SE(m) ±	0.04	0.66	0.87	1.14	0.12	0.69	0.93	1.22
CD (p = 0.05)	0.13	2.05	2.68	3.52	0.39	2.14	2.86	3.76
F1 (60 : 40 : 20)	6.33	40.98	65.71	98.87	6.31	41.92	65.93	99.72
F2 (75 : 50 : 30)	7.23	44.91	70.69	106.19	7.46	45.99	73.11	108.97
F3 (90 : 60 : 40)	7.34	45.32	71.90	106.63	7.91	48.11	76.35	112.68
SE(m) ±	0.05	0.82	1.07	1.41	0.15	0.85	1.14	1.50
CD (p = 0.05)	0.16	2.53	3.31	4.34	0.48	2.64	3.53	4.64
Days taken to reach different phenological stages
S1 (flat sowing)	37.44	71.49	77.39	122.17	37.94	70.61	78.23	121.06
S2 (ridge sowing)	41.86	74.50	80.40	126.25	40.91	74.54	80.68	125.65
SE(m) ±	0.45	0.42	0.39	0.45	0.39	0.45	0.52	0.75
CD (p = 0.05)	1.28	1.20	1.11	1.26	1.11	1.26	1.48	2.14
F1 (60 : 40 : 20)	36.68	69.25	75.38	120.46	37.42	68.83	76.86	120.61
F2 (75 : 50 : 30)	40.18	73.69	79.93	124.71	38.88	73.57	79.45	123.36
F3 (90 : 60 : 40)	42.09	76.05	81.26	127.46	41.97	75.32	82.06	126.11
SE(m) ±	0.48	0.45	0.34	0.48	0.48	0.47	0.64	0.94
CD (p = 0.05)	1.37	1.29	1.19	1.35	1.37	1.35	1.83	2.64

SE(m): standard error of mean, CD: critical difference.