Effects of Different Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates on the Vegetative Growth of Maize (Zea mays L.)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20372/afnr.v3i2.1472Abstract
A field experiment was conducted at Wollega University, College of Agriculture, on a farm designated for experimental research. The study aimed to assess the effect of varying nitrogen rates on the vegetative growth of maize. The total experimental area was 11 x 6.5 m (71.5 m2) and the size of each plot was 1.25 x 3 m (3.75 m2). The variety of maize (BH 140) was combined with four nitrogen rates (0, 60, 175, and 250 kg per hectare), and the field experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The treatment was assigned to the experimental plot in a random method. Five plants from each plot's two middle rows provided for data collections (percentage of emerged seedlings, number of leaves per plant, plant height, and leaf area per plant). The collected data were analyzed by SAS software. The main effect of nitrogen fertilizer rates was significantly (p < 0.05) influenced on the leaf length, plant height, number of leaves per plant, and leaf area per plant, while plant height showed a highly significant effect (p < 0.01). However, nitrogen fertilizer rates were non-significant (p > 0.05) on the percentage of emerged seedlings. Thus, this study concludes that further investigations are necessary to determine the effect of nitrogen rates on maize growth parameters across different sites, with careful attention to the entire growing season. However, based on our results, we recommend 175 kg/ha of nitrogen fertilizer for maize production under the study area and similar agroecologies.
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