Background and aims Locally produced bio-inoculant consortium and plant bioactive extract were studied as sustainable management options to boost maize production. Methods The field study was conducted from 13th April to 15th July 2021 and repeated on another field site from 5th May to 4th August 2023 to avoid residual effects while validating reliability of the treatments. Experiments were set up as randomized complete block design with 5 treatments including a Control (No input), Chemical (NPK fertilizer + synthetic insecticide), Organic (Poultry manure + Piper guineense), and locally produced or commercial bio-inoculant of plant growth-promoting bacteria, with 4 replicates. Results Local inoculum significantly (P < 0.05) increased maize grain yield than untreated control. Microbial and organic amendments produced comparable maize grain yield to chemical input, which were significantly higher than the untreated control (P < 0.05). The local inoculum reduced fall armyworm (FAW) infestation of maize cobs by 18% and 31% in 2021 and 2023, respectively, compared to untreated control (P < 0.05). Stem borer infestation also reduced significantly (P < 0.05) across treatments for both years, with the lowest in local inoculum (6%), followed by commercial inoculum (31%), organic (52%), chemical (42%), and control (100%) in 2021, with a similar trend observed in 2023. In 2021, amounts of plant available phosphorus and exchangeable potassium were 71 mg kg(-1) and 1010 mg kg(-1) soil, respectively, in the locally produced bio-inoculant consortium, which were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than 30 mg kg(-1) and 374 mg kg(-1) in the control, respectively, and a similar trend was observed in 2023.