DOI: https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/26.3.4655
Original scientific paper
Maize leaf greenness and yield differential response to the biostimulating effect of Bacillus simplex under irrigation
2025, 26 (3) p. 626-633
Akasairi Ocwa, Brian Ssemugenze, Csaba Bojtor, Árpád Illés, Ronald Kuunya, Latif Okiria, Tamás Rátonyi, Endre Harsányi
Abstract
The use of bioinoculants continues to gain research attention due to the need to ensure sustainable soil and crop productivity under climate change. Soil and Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are useful indicators of leaf greenness that have a positive nexus with yield. These parameters are proper indicators of treatment effects. Therefore, this study examined the biostimulating effect of Bacillus simplex seed inoculation on leaf greenness and yield of maize under irrigated conditions. A field experiment with treatments consisting of maize seeds inoculated with Bacillus simplex and a control under irrigation was conducted. The SPAD and NDVI data were collected at the 12-leaf stage (V12), tasselling stage (VT) and Kernel blister stage (R2), while yield component and yield data were collected at harvest time. Analysed data revealed that Bacillus simplex seed inoculation significantly improved NDVI by 16.42% only at the R2 growth stage. Yield and yield components were significantly optimised by Bacillus simplex seed inoculation. Cob length, cob weight, weight of seeds per cob, number of seeds per cob and weight of 1000 seeds improved by 18.45%, 24.99%, 24.62%, 18.62% and 6.34%, respectively. The overall grain yield was optimised by 26.97% (3.12 t/ha). Therefore, Bacillus simplex can be used as a seed bioinoculant with irrigation to enhance sustainable maize production under climate change.
Keywords
maize, NDVI, SPAD, productivity, yield parameters
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