Response of maize (Zea mays L.) growth and yield to different fertilizer application in rainforest agro-ecological zone of Nigeria: Evaluation of CERES-maize crop model

Abstract

Field trials were carried out in the rainforest agroecological zone of Nigeria to assess the usefulness of the CERES-maize model as a decision support tool for optimizing growth and yield production of maize crop through varying application of organic manure as well as recommended Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium (NPK) 20:10:10 fertilizer rate. The experiment was laid in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in three (3) replications. The trial was conducted in the 2016 growing season at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University of Technology, Akure to calibrate and evaluate the performance of three maize cultivars (Suwan-1-SR-Y, ART/98/SW1 and ART/98/SW6 respectively) using sunshine organic manure applied at the rate of 0, 60, 90 and 120 kg N ha -1 and NPK 20:10:10 applied at a recommended rate of 70 kg N ha -1 . Model performance across fertilizer management was evaluated using some statistical indicators such as Mean Square error (RMSE), Mean bias error (MBE), and R 2 to measure its efficacy. Results showed that the model predicts accurately maize grain yield and total biomass with NPK 20:10:10 at 70 kg N ha -1 better than different rates of sunshine organic manure application for all the maize cultivars. The result further showed good agreement between the model predicted and observed data with low RMSE of ≤ 1 day for anthesis and ≤ 5 days for physiological maturity while the total leaf number ranged from 1.9 to 2.7. Model accuracy for predicting grain yield and total biomass was also good, for both the calibration and validation with lowest RMSE and NRMSE of the observed mean values.

Effect of Demeter Adjuvant (Rizospray Extremo) in Enhancing the Effectiveness of Herbicide Mixtures for Effective Weed Control in a Matured Oil Palm Plantation in Western Ghana

“…Application of adjuvant (extremo) at all doses reduced the dry weights of weed species significantly at 2, 4 and 6 weeks after treatment, indicating the effectiveness of the herbicide treatments in reducing the population of the weeds compared to the untreated plot. Results from the current study compares favorably to the findings of other authors (Prabawati & Guntoro, 2022;Larbi et al, 2013;Ismail et al, 1998). The adjuvant (extremo) used in the current study exerted higher effects on the woody weeds at the site as compared to the no adjuvant application (herbicide alone).…”

“…The use of herbicides like glyphosate (glisat and ceresate) and metsulfuron-methyl for effective weed control in Ghana have been documented (Ofosu-Budu et al, 2014a, 2014bLarbi et al, 2013). The use of surfactants to improve herbicide effectiveness for effective weed control has also been documented in other parts of the world (Aumatell, 1996;Caseley, 1996).…”

Effects of NPK Fertilizer and Vine Care on Soil Chemical Properties and Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Growth and Yield Parameters

“…However, organic manure is usually bulky and required in large quantity to sustain crop production and may not be available to the small scale farmers [10], hence, the need for inorganic fertilizer. The positive effect of the application of inorganic fertilizers on crop yields and yield improvement have been reported [11,4].…”