A field experiment was conducted during the Kharif 2014 at Agriculture Research Station, Siruguppa, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka to evaluate different nutrient recommendation techniques for hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) under vertisols. Treatments consisted of site specific nutrient management (SSNM), soil test crop response (STCR) and nutrient expert for target yield 8 and 10 t ha-1, Leaf colour chart (LCC) thresholds 4 and 5, SPAD thresholds 40 and 50 along with farmers fertilizer practice and state recommendations as checks. Application of fertilizer based on SSNM target 10 t ha-1 recorded higher grain yield (9532 kg ha-1), stover yield (11497 kg ha-1), grain rows per cob (18.4), grains per row (41.8), cob weight per plant (216.7 g) and grain yield per plant (136.5 g). Total dry matter production (349.20 g plant-1), leaf area per plant (2774 cm2plant-1), leaf area index (LAI) (2.31) and plant height (204.0 cm) were also higher with SSNM target 10 t ha-1. Nutrient Expert target (NE), LCC, SPAD threshold based fertilizer application also enhanced the yield. In spite of higher fertilizer cost, SSNM and STCR approaches recorded higher net return of ` 86727 ha-1 and ` 84601 ha-1, respectively. However, BC ratio returns per rupee invested on fertilizers was higher in NE target 10 t ha-1 and LCC threshold 5 in vertisols of  Northern Karnataka