Efficiency of Deep Fertilizer Placement In Maize in Terms of Sustainable Development Criteria

Abstract

Ensuring sustainable agricultural production technologies is becoming increasingly important in the face of the observed climate change and need to reduce the harmful environmental impact of agriculture. The aim of the study is a comparative assessment of the deep fertilizer placement method with surface broadcast application of fertilizers as regards overall sustainability. To reach this goal, based on the results of field experiments and expert opinions, the values of sustainability indicators (economic, environmental and social aspects) were determined. The AHP (analytical hierarchy process) method was applied to comparative assessment. The conducted analysis showed that economic, environmental and overall sustainability assessment are conditioned by productivity achieved. In the first year of the experiment, when the yield increase was not achieved, in terms of sustainability criteria considered, the surface broadcast application of fertilizers was determined to be preferred as compared to the deep fertilizer placement method. On the other hand, in the second year of research with yield increase, the practice with the deep application of mineral fertilizers resulted in a better performance than surface broadcast fertilization, while showing a similar overall performance in the case of natural fertilizers.