The effect of indole acetic acid on the performance of maize (<i>Zea maysl</i>.)in a Southern Guinea Savanna Zone of Nigeria

Abstract

Poor soil fertility and nutrient depletion continue to present huge challenges to successful crop production in  southern Guinea savanna zone of Nigeria. Consequently, a study was conducted at Ilorin - Nigeria in a southern Guinea savanna zone during the wet seasons of 2012 and 2013 to evaluate the effects of indole acetic acid  (IAA), a growth regulator, on the growth and yield of maize and its economic implications. The treatments imposed were five rates of IAA (0, 200, 400, 600 and 800 ppm) using a randomized complete block design  replicated three times. A basal NPK fertilizer was applied at 3WAP and IAA was applied at the primary leaf stage foliarly. Data were collected on growth parameters and grain yield of maize. Analyses of variance  (ANOVA) for all observations were performed and mean separation was done by using the least significant  difference (LSD). Cost benefit analysis was also determined. The result of the experiment indicated that using IAA significantly (P<0.05) increased growth and grain yield of maize from 3300 to 3957.9kgha-1 but the result of economic analysis indicated that the control produced the highest net returns (N225,130 in 2012 and  N232,959.00 in 2013) and was more economical because of high cost of indole acetic acid for maize cultivation.

Keywords: maize, growth regulator, growth, grain yieldand net returns.