Plant Population Density and Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate on Productivity of Maize (Zea mays L.) in Sibu Sire District, Western Ethiopia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20372/afnr.v1i1.619Keywords:
BH-546, Grain yield, Nitrogen rate , Plant populationAbstract
Maize yield is extremely reliant on nitrogen ratios and planting arrangement. Crop architecture provided additional space to increase yield per unit area. There was no adequate information on optimum nitrogen rates and spacing on maize hybrid (BH-546) variety in the study area. Thus, a field experiment was conducted in Sibu Sire District, in 2020 to evaluate the effect of different nitrogen rates and plant populations on the BH-546 variety. The experiment was arranged in the randomized complete block designed factorial arrangement with three replications. Four nitrogen rates (69, 92, 115, and 138 kg/ha) combined with four plant populations of 44,444, 53,333, 66,665, and 88,885 used for the experiment. The results showed that interaction effects of nitrogen rates and plant population were significantly affected leaf area index, harvest index, biomass yield, and grain yield. The highest plant population density of 88,885 plants/ha gave the maximum leaf area index at all rates of nitrogen applied. The maximum harvest index was achieved when nitrogen rates at 115 and 138 kg/ha were applied in combination with a plant population of 44,444 plants/ha. Similarly, the highest (26,725 kg/ha) biomass yield was obtained from 138 kg/ha nitrogen with 88,885 plant populations. The maximum (11,706 kg/ha) grain yield was obtained from a plant population of 88,885 plants/ha with a nitrogen rate of 115 kg/ha. The finding suggests that 88,885 population density combined with 115 kg/ha of nitrogen produced the highest (117.06 Qt/ha) with the highest net benefit of 91,845.8 ETB (Ethiopian Birr)/ha and cost-benefit ratio of 3.35.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
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Accepted 2023-07-29
Published 2023-09-30
