Sulfur Nutrition of Maize in Four Regions of Malawi

Abstract

Sulfur, though widely deficient in Africa, has received little attention by soil fertility researchers. Shifts to low‐S, high‐analysis fertilizers, continuous cropping, and higher‐yielding varieties may have increased S limitations in maize (Zea mays L.) production. We aimed to characterize maize S nutritional status in farmers’ fields in four regions of Malawi and determine maize response to S. Four 42 to 68 km2 study areas were delineated, two with low‐elevation lacustrine soils, and two with highly weathered residual upland soils. Maize plants in 238 farmer fields were sampled for nutrient analysis at 8‐ to 12‐leaf vegetative and tasseling growth stages. Replicated experiments were conducted in two years on a total of 20 farms to determine maize yield responses to S with and without N and/or P. Sampling areas differed significantly in maize S concentrations, S Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) indices, and N:S ratios. For earleaves, means were 1.46 g/kg S; S DRIS index, 12.2; and N:S ratio, 11.5. The ratio of N:S in the earleaf was the best predictor of maize yield response to (R2 5 0.58) Maize yields showed a N × S interaction such that there were no responses to S unless N was also supplied. With 80 kg/ha N, a significant response to S was shown by maize in all but one of 20 experiments. A response curve for S showed that 5 to 10 kg/ha of S was optimal, with mean yield responses ranging from 90 to 142 kg grain/kg S.

Variations in essential and non-essential element composition and yield of silage corn fertilized with sulfur

“…Similar increases in tissue S concentration were also reported for corn (Rehm 2005;Weil and Mughogho 2000) and many crops (Carter and Cutcliffe 1990;Toma et al 1999;Inal et al 2003;Prasad 2003;Cui et al 2006).…”

“…In our previous work, following the determination of S deficiencies in wheat grown areas of central Anatolia, yield and some of the yield components in bread and durum wheat cultivars were significantly responded to the application of S fertilizer in the greenhouse and field experiments which conducted with a soil containing 12.78 mg extractable S kg (1 soil (Inal et al 2003). Positive effect of sulfur fertilization on the yield of maize and many crops was reported previously (Weil and Mughogho 2000;Prasad 2003;Gyori 2005;Rehm 2005). However, there are no results available in the literature on the effects of S on yield and elemental (essential and non-essential) composition of silage corn.…”

“…Sulfur fertilization improved silage corn yield for both years. Previously, Rehm (2005) and Weil and Mughogho (2000) was also reported positive effect of S fertilization on silage corn. Additionally, Toma et al (1999), Prasad (2003) and Cui et al (2006) reported positive response of alfalfa, groundnut and natural grassland to applied gypsum-S, respectively.…”

Nitrogen use efficiency of poultry manure by maize

“…The material was ground and sieved (0.2 mm) and analyzed for total N content. The ear leaves were selected because the nutrient content of ear leaf of maize at silking is found to be the best predictor of nutrient content of harvested grains (Weil and Mughogho, 2000). The N content of the harvested grains was also determined and used to estimate the apparent N and physiological N efficiencies.…”

Evidence for the Ability of Active‐Optical Sensors to Detect Sulfur Deficiency in Corn

“…Predicting S defi ciency in soils is diffi cult due to the poor relationship between the S soil test and crop response (Pagani and Echeverria, 2011;Franzen, 2015aFranzen, , 2015b. Presence of S deficiency in corn can be better determined at physiological maturity with plant tissue analysis (Weil and Mughogho, 2000;Pagani and Echeverria, 2011), but its value to a corn grower at that growth stage is mostly academic, because there is little ability to correct the S defi ciency and increase crop yield.…”