Effect of Depth and Placement Distance of Fertilizer NPK 15-15-15 on the Performance and Yield of Maize Plant

Fertilizer in tropical agriculture has the potential to dramatically increase yield of maize as most soils are highly weathered and as such requires regular nutrient replenishment. Varying fertilizer (N.P.K 15-15-15) depth and placement distance in relation to performance and yield of maize was evaluated on Ho series. Six treatments made up of no fertilizer (control), 0/0cm, 10cm/5cm, 20cm/10cm, 30cm/15cm (distance from the plant and how deep into the soil) and broadcasting was used. Plot sizes of 28m 2 (8m x3.5m) was used and fertilizer NPK 15-15-15 was applied at 250kg/ha. Agronomic readings made up of plant height, stem girth, total leaf area and leaf area index of the maize plant were taken every fortnight till it tasselled. Both maize ears and grain were weighed using the weighing balance of which grain yield was extrapolated to yield per hectre for mean comparison. The results showed that, band fertilizer placed at 20 cm from the plant and 10 cm deep in the soil proved to be superior compared to the rest in relation to the parameters studied. The differences were highly significant (p ≥0.05) especially grain yield. The superior performance of 20/10 cm suggests that fertilizer was utilized by plants efficiently which means that dissolved nutrients were just within the plant root zone for uptake. It was therefore concluded that banding fertilizer at 20/10 cm increased yield two folds compared to broadcasting and two and half folds compared to the control and therefore highly recommended.