Abstract
Despite various fertilizer recommendations, maize (Zea mays L.) yields in tropical forest and savanna zones are very low. These low yields could be attributed in part to the exclusion of some secondary and all micro nutrients in fertilizer recommendations for maize, a condition which often leads to nutrient imbalance. The inclusion of some secondary and micro nutrients in fertilizer recommendation for successful maize cultivation in this zone has been suggested [2, 16] but no one has proposed a balanced nutrient program for this purpose. Field trials were therefore conducted to investigate the potential for improving maize yields by fertilizing soils of different parent materials with both macro and micro nutrients in three ecological zones of maize production in south western Nigeria.
The study has indicated that in addition to NPK, Mg was necessary for high yield of maize on forest soils derived from sedimentary materials while on forest and savanna soils formed from basement complex rocks, inclusion of Mg, Fe, Cu and Zn to NPK was required. This was further confirmed with ear leaf tissue and soil analyses. High nutrient concentration in earleaf does not necessarily guarantee high yield of maize. It is therefore concluded that there is a need for soil testing program in this region.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agboola AA (1972) The relationship between the yield of eight varieties of Nigerian maize and content of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the leaf at flowering stage. J Agric Sci Cambridge 97, 391–396
Agboola AA and Corey RB (1976) Nutrient deficiency survey of maize in western Nigeria. Nigerian J of Sci 10, 1–13
Agboola AA, Corey RB and Olu Obi (1977) A survey of western State soils on the response of maize to fertilizers Nigerian Agric J 13, 150–158
AOAC (1970) Official method of analysis — 11th Ed. Assoc Anal Chemists, Washington DC
Baker, EFI (1961) The cultivation of maize in Western Region of Nigeria. Annual Report, crop husbandary section, Ministry of Agric and Natural Resources, Ibadan, Nigeria
Bennet, WR, Starford G and Dannel L (1953) Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content of the maize grain as related to nitrogen fertilization and yield. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 17:252–258
Bray, RH and Kurtz LT (1945) Determination of total, organic and available forms of phosphorus in soils. Soil Sci 59:39–45
Bromfield AR (1967) End of tour report. Soil and chemistry section, Research Division, Western State Ministry of Agric and Natural Resources, Ibadan, Nigeria
Ellis R Jr., Davis JF and Thurlow DI (1964) Zinc availability in calcareous Michigan soils as influenced by phosphorus level and temperature. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 28:83–86
Foy CD and Barber SA (1958) Magnesium deficiency and maize yield on two acid Indiana soils. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 22:145–148
Fuehring HD and Soofi GB (1964) Nutrition of maize on calcareous soil II. Effect of zinc on the yields of grain and stover in relation to other micronutrients. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 28:79–82
Hunter AH (1972) Soil analytical procedure using modified NaHCO3 extracting solution. Lab manual Inter Soil Fert Evaluation Improvement Project. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Jackson ML (1962) Soil chemical analysis. Prentice Hall, Inc Engel Wood Cliffs. New Jersey
Kanapathy K (1972) Copper requirements and residual effects with maize in a peat soil. Malay Agric J 48:249–263
Kang BT and Osiname OA (1979) Phosphorus response of maize grown on Alfisols of Southern Nigeria. Agron J 71:873–877
Kayode GO and Agboola AA (1981) Effect of different nitrogen levels, plant population and soil nutrient status on yield and yield components of maize (Zea mays L) in different ecological zones of Nigeria. Fert Resh 2:177–191
Key JL and Kurtz LT (1960) Response of maize and soybean to magnesium fertilizer. Agron J 52:300
Kitson RE and Mellon JP (1944) Colorimetric determination of P as molybdivanado phosphoric acid. Ind Eng Chem AE 16:379–383
Koli SE (1970) The optimum planting date for maize in Ghana. Ghana J Agric Sci 3:73–81
Kowal JML (1956) Results of fertilizer experiments on food crops in western Nigeria. Ministry of Agric and Natural Resources, Ibadan, Nigeria
Lal R (1973) Effect of seed bed preparation and time of planting on maize (Zea mays L) in Western Nigeria. Exp Agric 9: 303–313
Oplinger ES and Ohlrogge AJ (1974) Response of maize and soybeans to field application of copper I Agron J 66:586–571
Osiname OA (1979) Maize response to P fertilization in different ecological zones of western Nigeria. Nigerian J of Agric Sci 1:9–13
Pumphrey FV, Koehler FE, Allmaras RR and Roberts S (1963) Method and rate of applying zinc sulphate for maize on zinc deficient soils in western Nebraska. Agron J 55:235–239
USDA Soil Survey Staff (1975) Soil classification. A comprehensive system (7th Approximation) United States Dept of Agric Washington DC 265pp
Viets FG Jr, Boan LC, Crawfords CL and Nelson CE (1953) Zinc deficiency in maize in central Washington. Agron J 45:559–565
Walkley A and Black TA (1934) An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci 37:29–38
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kayode, G., Agboola, A.A. Macro and micro-nutrient effects on the yield and nutrient concentration of maize (Zea mays L.) in South Western Nigeria. Fertilizer Research 8, 129–135 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048896
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048896