Growth and Yield of Hybrid Corn under Different Fertilizer Applications

Abstract

Conventional agriculture is heavily depended on the use of inorganic fertilizer that provides sufficient macro nutrients, with some draw back on the environment. On the other hand, organic agriculture that only use organic fertilizers is considered environmentally friendly but sometimes could not provide adequate nutrients for plants. The aim of this research was study the growth and yield of hybrid corn treated with different dose of Granular Organic Fertilizer (GOF) in comparison to inorganic fertilizers. The corns were planted in polybags arranged in Randomized Completely Block Design with four treatments, i.e. 10 tons/ha GOF, 20 tons/ha GOF, 30 tons/ha GOF, inorganic fertilizers (630 kg/ha ZA, 350 kg/ha Urea, 100 kg/ha SP36, 380 kg/ha Phonska). Each treatment consisted of 20 plants with 6 replications. The results showed that the height of plants treated with 20 tons/ha GOF or 30 tons/ha GOF was not significantly different from plants treated with inorganic fertilizers, but was significantly higher than those treated with 10 tons/ha GOF. The number of leaves did not significantly affected by different fertilizers application. Furthermore, plants treated with inorganic fertilizers significantly had higher chlorophyll content and produced higher yield than those treated with GOF at various doses. This revealed that application of GOF on corn at dose of up to 30 tons/ha was not sufficient to produce high yield. To increased yield, higher dose of GOF is needed or it can be supplemented by application of inorganic fertilizers