## 3 Results
### The Seed Germination, Physiology and Productivity of the Wheat-Maize Cropping System
#### 3.2.2 Crop Growth and Yield Attributes  
Growth and yield parameters for wheat and maize are given in Figure 5. For wheat, their plant biomass production was significantly (\(p\) < 0.05) increased in the later years compared to the first year of amendment (Figure 5a-c). Leaf dry weight increased most in year 1 for treatment FYM + G50, increasing by 62% over the control. By contrast, the highest shoot and root dry weights were found in the year 3 wheat crop with PM + G50 and GM + G50 (91% and 92% more compared to their respective controls). The maximum number of spikes (12) was recorded for wheat in PM + G50 and GM + G50 in year 3, which was a 71% increase over the control (Figure 5d). Similarly, a significant (\(p\) < 0.005) increase in the number of spikelets (36) was observed in year 3 with an 80% increase over the control (Figure 5e). Root lengths significantly increased (\(p\) < 0.05) over the controls in all of the treatments, increasing by 71% in FYM + G50 and 75% in PM + G50 (Figure 5f). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Treatments** & **Parameters** & **Units** & **Respenses** \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{PM + G50} & pH & - & 8.7 \(\pm\) 0.04 h \\ \cline{2-3}  & EC & dS m\({}^{-1}\) & 4.8 \(\pm\) 0.03 f \\ \cline{2-3}  & SAR & (mmol L\({}^{-1}\))\({}^{1/2}\) & 17.8 \(\pm\) 0.6 g \\ \cline{2-3}  & CEC & cmol\({}_{\rm c}\) kg\({}^{-1}\) & 8.2 \(\pm\) 0.03 a \\ \cline{2-3}  & Total Nitrogen & g kg\({}^{-1}\) & 0.08 \(\pm\) 0.01 a \\ \cline{2-3}  & SOM & \% & 0.7 \(\pm\) 0.01 a \\ \cline{2-3}  & MBC & mg kg\({}^{-1}\) & 12.3 \(\pm\) 0.2 ab \\ \cline{2-3}  & SR & mmol m\({}^{-2}\) s\({}^{-1}\) & 121.1 \(\pm\) 0.3 ab \\ \cline{2-3}  & DHA & \(\mu\)g TPF g\({}^{-1}\) h\({}^{-1}\) & 436 \(\pm\) 20 b \\ \hline \multirow{8}{*}{GM + G50} & pH & - & 8.7 \(\pm\) 0.01 h \\ \cline{2-3}  & EC & dS m\({}^{-1}\) & 4.7 \(\pm\) 0.01 s \\ \cline{2-3}  & SAR & (mmol L\({}^{-1}\))\({}^{1/2}\) & 16.2 \(\pm\) 0.7 g \\ \cline{2-3}  & CEC & cmol\({}_{\rm c}\) kg\({}^{-1}\) & 8.1 \(\pm\) 0.03 b \\ \cline{2-3}  & Total Nitrogen & g kg\({}^{-1}\) & 0.06 \(\pm\) 0.02 bc \\ \cline{2-3}  & SOM & \% & 0.7 \(\pm\) 0.01 ab \\ \cline{2-3}  & MBC & mg kg\({}^{-1}\) & 13.1 \(\pm\) 0.3 a \\ \cline{2-3}  & SR & mmol m\({}^{-2}\) s\({}^{-1}\) & 13.3 \(\pm\) 0.7 a \\ \cline{2-3}  & DHA & \(\mu\)g TPF g\({}^{-1}\) h\({}^{-1}\) & 507 \(\pm\) 10 a \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Cont. Figure 4: Impacts of different treatments on (**a**) wheat and (**b**) maize plant height. Error bars represent the standard error (\(n=3\)). Different letters indicate statistical difference (LSD, \(p<0.05\)). Figure 3: Impacts of different treatments on seed germination of (**a**) wheat and (**b**) maize. Error bars represent the standard error (\(n=3\)). Different letters indicate statistical difference (LSD, \(p<0.05\)). Figure 5: _Cont._  
For maize, the highest leaf dry weight was in year 2 in the treatment FYM + G50, with a 56% increase over the control (Figure 6a), while shoot and root dry weights were highest in year 2 for FYM + G50 (a 49% increase over the control) and in year 3 for GM + G50 (a 114% increase over the control) (Figure 6b,c). In the maize crop, the maximum increase in root length (+90%) was recorded in the treatment PM + G50 in year 3 (Figure 6d). The wheat and maize crop yields showed a significant variation with treatment and year (Figure 7). The maximum wheat yield in the year 3 treatment FYM + G50 showed a 51% increase over the control (Figure 6a), while the highest maize yield was a 49% increase in GM + G50 in year 3 (Figure 6b). Figure 5: Impacts of different treatments on (**a**) leaves, (**b**) shoots and (**c**) root fresh and dry weights, (**d**) no. of spikes, (**e**) no. of spikelets and (**f**) root length of wheat. Error bars represent the standard error (\(n=3\)). Different letters indicate statistical difference (LSD, \(p<0.05\)).