Influence of zinc treatments on grain yield and grain quality of different maize genotypes

Maize production is intensified with a larger amount of mineral fertilisers in the era of meteorological conditions change, which leads to a decrease in the reserves of microelements in the soil. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of zinc application on grain yield, nitrogen and carbon content in grain of three maize genotypes in the period 2016–2018 (factor A). Factor B: cultivars ZP 427, ZP 548 and ZP 687 belonging to different maturation groups. Factor C: Various zinc treatments were applied: T1 – control; T2 – 25 kg Zn2+/ha (35 g of ZnSO4 on the experimental plot) was introduced into the soil before sowing; T3 – seed treatment (0.129 g of ZnSO4 • 7 H2O) +foliar treatment (2 L/ha liquid fertiliser 7% Zn2+). The average yield for all examined variables was 7.33 t/ha. On average, T2 (8.08 t/ha) treatment showed a highly significant effect on the yield in relation to T1 (7.03 t/ha) and on T3 (7.21 t/ha). On average, the amount of nitrogen determined for all cultivars was the highest in T3 (1.52%). The highest carbon content was in T1 (41.78%), which is at the level of significance of P < 0.01 more than T2 (41.46%), while in relation to T3 (40.99%) there is no significance.