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Apr 30, 2026Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Growth and Yield of Maize (Zea mays L) as Influenced by Lime, Compost, NPK Fertilizer, and Biochar
Abstract
Maize productivity and yield could be sustained by applying soil amendment (SA). Poor soil fertility (PSF) affects crop production adversely, and soil acidity has been increasing as a consequence of mineral fertilizer application. Therefore, the growth and yield of maize as influenced by SA agents were investigated. Maize variety SAMMAZ 52 was planted in 0.75 m x 0.25 m spacing. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with ten treatments replicated three times, these include: control (T1), compost (T2), lime (T3), biochar (T4), NPK 15:15:15 (T5), Lime + biochar (T6), lime + NPK fertilizer (T7), lime + compost (T8), lime + compost + biochar (T9) and lime + compost + biochar + NPK (T10). Data were collected on growth and yield parameters and subjected to analysis of variance. The soil pH was 4.5, and the soil texture was classified as sandy. Results showed that treatments did not significantly affect vegetative growth parameters at 30 and 60 days after planting. However, treatments had a significant influence on yield-related traits such as cob length, cob weight, ear weight, and husk weight, but had no significant effect on 100 seed weight, cob diameter, number of kernels per row, and number of rows per cob. Among the evaluated treatments, T8 exhibited the highest outcomes in yield and nutrient use efficiency, which together constitute the primary benchmark of agricultural productivity. The proximate composition of the maize yield was influenced across treatments. Lime, in combination with compost at an equal proportion by weight, proved to enhance maize productivity.
