Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) Fertilizer Application on Maize (Zea mays L.) Growth and Yield at Ado-Ekiti, South-West, Nigeria

Nutrient depletion as a result of continuous cultivation without supplementary addition of external inputs is a major challenge to agricultural productivity in South-west Nigeria. An experiment was set up to evaluate the effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer application rates on the performance of maize (Zea mays L.) in field trials at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, south-west Nigeria. The treatments consisted of 2 factors (i) N at 0, 30, 60, 90kg N.ha-1 (ii) P at 0, 15, 30, 45kg P∙ha-1in all possible combinations and laid out in a randomized complete block design arranged with three replicates. Data of plant height, leaf area, stem girth and cob length, cob diameter, 100 grain weight and grain yield were collected. The result showed that plant height, stem girth and leaf area∙ plant-1increased with N and P fertilizer rates. Cob length, cob diameter, 100 grain weight and grain yield, significantly (P=.05) increased with N and P application such that 90kg N∙ha-1 and 30kg N∙ha-1 gave the highest values. It may be concluded that application of the combination of N at 90kg∙ha-1 and P at 30kg∙ha-1 which produced the highest grain yield of maize could be regarded as the optimum for N and P in the study area. Therefore, further work should be carried out to ascertain the validity of this rate for maximum productivity.