Effects of Terralyt - Plus on soil pH, nutrient uptake and dry matter yield of maize

Abstract

Acid soils are common in the tropics and managing them for sustainable cropping usually demands soil amendments. A greenhouse experiment was conducted at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Ibadan, Nigeria to evaluate the effects of a soil amendment substance - organic biostimulator - Terralyt-Plus® on the growth, soil pH, nutrient uptake and dry matter production of maize. The soils used for the study (Entisol, Alfisol) were collected from the coastal and forest zones of Nigeria. The Terralyt-Plus® was applied (0, 20, 40 and 60 ml m-2) with the conventional urea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash fertilizers. These were compared with a no-fertilizer control. The experiment was laid out with completely randomised design (CRD) replicated three times. Maize was grown for six weeks when the shoot and roots were harvested for dry matter yield assessment and determination of selected chemical constitutuents. Complementing inorganic fertilizer application with Terralyt-Plus® significantly improved maize performance on the soils. Shoot dry matter yield increased from 15 - 32% compared with sole inorganic fertilizer treatment. It was 64 -77% over the control. Phosphorus uptake was highest at 40 ml m-2 on the soil at Ilora while for soils at Ikenne and Badagry; it was at 20 ml m-2. Application of 20 - 40 ml m-2 (200 - 400 l ha-1) gave optimum height and dry matter yield of maize, and improved nutrient uptake of maize pla