Abstract
This experiment was conducted in 2019 major cropping season in the Semi-deciduous forest Agro-ecological zone of Ghana to solve low maize yield and improve maize productivity and enhance farmer’s income using foliar and soil applied fertilizers as nutrient sources. Eight treatments (T) were used; T1= {N, P2O5, K2O (90-60-60) kg/ha} at 2 and 6 weeks after sowing (WAS); T2= {Poultry manure (4 t/ha)} at 2 weeks before sowing (WBS); T3= {Foliar fertilizer (4 L/ha)} at 2, 4 and 6 WAS; T4= {Poultry manure (2 t/ha)} at 2 WBS + {N, P2O5, K2O (45-30-30) kg/ha} at 2 and 6 WAS; T5= {N, P2O5, K2O (45-30-30) kg/ha} at 2 and 6 WAS + {Foliar fertilizer (2 L/ha)} at 4 WAS; T6= {Poultry manure (2 t/ha)} at 2 WBS + {Foliar fertilizer (2 L/ha)} at 2 and 6 WAS; T7= {Poultry manure (2 t/ha)} at 2 WBS + {N, P2O5, K2O (45-30-30) kg/ha} at 2 and 6 WAS + {Foliar fertilizer (2 L/ha)} at 4 WAS and T8= Control (No Fertilizer). The results showed that T7 performed better than T8 (Control) in terms of plant height, stem girth, cob length, 1000-grain weight and grain yield as well as economic net benefit. Key words: Semi-deciduous forest, agro-ecological zone, 1000-grain weight, economic benefit analysis, foliar fertilizer, integrated nutrient management.
Highlights
Cereals continue to be the main fundamental means of energy for greater than 962 million human population in the Africa region and are very important for food safety increase (OECD/FAO, 2016)
The results of the study revealed significant growth and yield following the integrated application of the half rate of recommended nutrient sources which was evident in the higher maize grain yield produced in T7 ({Poultry manure (2 t/ha)} at 2 weeks before sowing (WBS) + {N, P2O5, K2O (4530-30) kg/ha} at 2 and 6 Weeks After Sowing (WAS) + {Foliar fertilizer (2 L/ha)} at 4 WAS) and was statistically similar to T1 and T4
The highest net return was derived in T7, which was statistically similar to T2 and T6
Summary
Cereals continue to be the main fundamental means of energy for greater than 962 million human population in the Africa region and are very important for food safety increase (OECD/FAO, 2016). Maize holds an important position among the cereal crops, and used as food for human beings as well as animals feed. Its production accounts for 50-60% of aggregate cereal crops produced in Ghana. In Ghana, the national average maize productivity on farmers’ field is about 2.26 tonnes per hectare whereas the projected achievable grain yield is around 5.50 t/ha (MoFA, 2018). The major underlying cause for the low yields is low soil fertility which is often addressed by recommended mineral fertilizer applications. The application of mineral fertilizers on degraded lands do not always produce the expected yield, primarily due to low organic material and reduced soil microbial activity (Bot and Benites, 2005). Organic nutrients help to maintain plant nutrients and avoid nutrient loss through leaching beyond the soil horizons that cannot be reached by plant roots (Miller, 2018)
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