Improving Maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield by the application of inorganic and organic fertilizers plus

Abstract

Maize or corn is the most important crop as a staple food in many places in the world. It is mostly grown in dryland area with very low in soil fertility. Therefore this study aimed to investigate the effect of inorganic and organic fertilizers plus on the soil chemical changes, growth and yield of maize. The experimental designed was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in the pattern of factorial, which consisted of two factors. The first factor was Organic fertilizer plus (P), which consisted of three levels namely : P0 (without organic fertilizer plus), P1 (10 ton ha−1), P2 (20 ton ha−1), and the second factor was inorganic fertilizer (A), which consisted of three levels, namely : A0 (without inorganic fertilizer), without inorganic fertilizer), A1 (150 kg ha−1) and A2 (300 kg ha−1), with three replication. Data collected were analyzed by using analysis of variance at 5% level and significant treatments effect were separated with honestly significant difference at P ≤ 0.05. Results indicated that there were no interaction between inorganic and organic fertilizers plus rates on growth, yield and soil chemical changes. The use of organic fertilizers plus significantly improved the growth, yield and soil chemical properties. Dealing with the agronomic properties of maize showed that the application of inorganic fertilizer significantly increased the plant weight by increasing the plant height, leaf numbers and leaf area.