Response of maize to nitrogen, phosphorus and filtermud applied to a dystric nitosols
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Date
2003
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
A glasshouse pot experiment to study the response of maize (Zea mays') to nitrogen, phosphorus and filtermud applied to a Dystric nitosols was carried out at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) Morogoro, Tanzania. The Dystric nitosols was collected from the central part of SUA farm while the filtermud was obtained from Mtibwa Sugar Factory, Turiani Morogoro, Tanzania. The Dystric nitosols was characterized by low total organic carbon, nitrogen, exchangeable Ca and Mg, CEC, plant available P and a very strongly acid reaction. The filtermud contained low amounts of the essential nutrients elements and had a very mild alkaline reaction. Fifty four, 12 kg soil sample portions of the Dystric nitosols were weighed into 10 litre capacity plastic buckets and thoroughly mixed with nitrogen as (NH^SCXi at the rates of 0, 50 and 100 kgNha'1, P as KH2PO4 at the rates of 0, 75 and 150 kg P ha’1 and filtermud at the rates of 0, 15 and 30 tonsfiltermudha’1 in a 3° factorial experiment in a completely randomized block design with two replicates. The soil-N-P-filtermud treatments were incubated at field capacity for 3 weeks after which five maize seeds were planted in each pot and allowed to grow for 6 weeks. The whole maize plants above the soil levels in the plastic buckets were harvested according to treatments at the end of the 6th week of growth and dried at 70 °C to constant weights for dry matter determination. The oven dried maize plants were chopped into small pieces and ground into fine powder for the determination of N, P and K contents. The application of N, P alone and in combination and N-P-filtermud combinations significantly increased the dry matter yields and percent N, P and K in the maize plants. The increases in the N, P and K contents in the maize plants were attributed to increased availability of N, P and K added to the soil as N and P fertilizers and the N, P and K released from the filtermud through decomposition and mineralization. Further, improvement of the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil by the filtemud could have contributed to increased uptake of N, P and K. However, application of filtermud alone decreased the N, P and K contents of the maize plants and this was attributed to the immobilization of these nutrients in the soil. Filtermud could be used as an organic soil amendment when applied together with inorganic fertilizers for the enhancement and sustainability of soil fertility. Application of inorganic fertilizers and filtermud would improve soil productivity without detrimental effect to the environment.
Description
Disseratation
Keywords
Maize, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Dystric nitosols, Zea mays'