Abstract
Trials were carried out using five composite maize varieties in a Striga lutea (Lour) endemic soil of Temidire-Eruwa, Oyo State, Nigeria, in 2004 and 2005. The composite maize varieties were tested under varied fertilizer types, nitrogen (N) concentrations and artificial striga infestation. The objective was to test these striga resistant maize varieties for yield and agronomic performance under the above conditions. The result showed that, variety and year of evaluation differed significantly (P<0.01) for almost all agronomic characters such as plant stand, days to anthesis (silking and tasselling), plant and ear heights as well as root and stalk lodging resistance at both 100 and 200 kgN/ha. Variety x year interaction were also significantly different (P<0.01) for all agronomic characters except root lodging and husk tip cover. Fertilizer type differed only for days to silking, plant height and plant aspect, while year x nitrogen source and variety x nitrogen source was highly significant (P<0.01) for field weight. Plant stands were generally better in 2004 than 2005 for all varieties except Acr 97syn-W and DMR-LSR-W. The composite maize varieties were able to tolerate high N-concentration except DMR-LSR-Y which do not utilize excess nitrogen above 100 kgN/ha. Use of striga resistant maize varieties concomitantly with nitrogen fertilizer is recommended for farmers in S. lutea endemic ecology, for higher grain yield. Key words: Composite maize, fertilizer type, nitrogen (N) concentrations, striga resistance, yield.
Highlights
Maize is an important cereal crop in the farming system of tropical and subtropical Africa
Maize is adaptable to almost all agro-ecologies of Nigeria where moisture is adequate for its growth (Olakojo and Olaoye, 2006)
The magnitude of mean squares (MS) for plant and ear heights and plant stand were generally larger than the other traits
Summary
Maize is an important cereal crop in the farming system of tropical and subtropical Africa It constitutes the bulk of the diet of people and livestock as a source of energy for survival and growth. Many workers had suggested various control measures for striga These include: the use of nitrogen fertilizer (Igbinnosa et al, 1996; Kim and Tanimonure, 1993; Kim and Adetimirin, 1997; Olakojo et al, 2001), breeding for striga resistance crop genotypes (Kim, 1994; Ogunbodede and Olakojo, 2001; Olakojo and Olaoye, 2005, 2006a, b) and the use of striga resistant genotypes in combination with adequate moisture supply (Olakojo and Olaoye, 2006)
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