Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is the most critical plant nutrient. Maize has a high nitrogen demand. Low maize (Zea mays L.), yields in smallholder farms of Malawi, the country’s staple, is attributable to declining N fertility aggravated by the ever increasing price of fertilizer. Little effort has been made to establish the best nitrogen rate in a maize- cowpea and maize-bean intercrop under variable soil conditions as a way of improving production, and was the objective of the current study. Field experiments were conducted at Chitedze Agricultural Research Station in Lilongwe and Makoka Agricultural Research Station in Zomba during the 2016/17 growing season. A split plot layout in a randomized complete block design, with three replicates was used. The main plots were; sole maize, sole bean, sole cowpea, bean/maize and cowpea/maize intercrop systems. The sub plots were N fertilizer rates (0, 52.5, 78.75 and 105 kg N ha-1), applied as urea. The data collected was subjected to analysis of variance using SAS software version 9.3 (SAS Institute Inc.) at P<0.05. Means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range (DMRT) test at 95% significance level. The results showed that application of N increased maize N uptake and grain yield. NUE however decreased with increasing N fertilizer rate.
Highlights
Nitrogen (N) is a critical component of organic molecules such as amino acids, proteins and nucleic acids (Walworth, 2013) and promotes vigorous vegetative growth (Havlin, Tisdale, Beaton, & Werner, 2008; Paul, 2008)
Maize grain yield was significantly higher at Chitedze than at Makoka
The study to determine effects of mineral N fertilizer application and legume integration on maize nutrient uptake and yield, demonstrated that N absorption by maize occurred with application of the water soluble urea fertilizer
Summary
Nitrogen (N) is a critical component of organic molecules such as amino acids, proteins and nucleic acids (Walworth, 2013) and promotes vigorous vegetative growth (Havlin, Tisdale, Beaton, & Werner, 2008; Paul, 2008). It is the most frequently deficient plant nutrient in Malawian soils. This has resulted into low maize (Zea mays L.) yields, the country’s staple (Munthali & Mazuma, 2010). Alternative ways of improving nitrogen fertility of soil and subsequently increase maize yield should be identified
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