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Inadequate knowledge on fertilizer usage and poor financial resources are among the reasons for low maize
productivity under small-scale farming. Fertilizer micro-dosing may increase food production by using low rates
which are affordable by most resource poor farmers and have a high investment return. A two-year field experiment
was conducted on sandy loam and sandy clay soils being typical representatives of sub-humid tropical agroecological zones. A split-plot design involved di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), Minjingu mazao (MM) and triple
super phosphate (TSP) as main plots and fertilizer micro-dose rates of 10 kg N and 5 kg P/ha, 20 kg N and 10 kg
P/ha, 40 kg N and 20 kg P/ha, 60 kg N and 30 kg P/ha, recommended rate 80 kg N and 40 kg P ha-1 and control as
sub-plots. Phosphate fertilizers that produced highest grain yield were MM (2317 kg/ha), followed by DAP (2173
kg/ha) and TSP (2115 kg/ha). Fertilizer micro dose rates (10 kg N and 5 kg P/ha; 20 kg N and 10 kg P/ha) increased
the yield by 90.5 and 136.6% from 1012 kg/ha in control, respectively. Intermediate rates (40 kg N and 20 kg P/ha)
and (60 kg N and 30 kg P/ha) produced average grain yields of 2629 and 2647 kg/ha while the recommended rate
produced 2601 kg/ha. The highest grain yield was 3910 kg/ha from MM at 40 kg N and 20 kg P/ha. Considering the
micro-dose options therefore, MM fertilizer and micro dose rates (10 kg N and 5 kg P/ha) and (20 kg N and 20 kg
P/ha) are recommended in these agro-ecological zones. |
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