Bio-rational Nutrients and Variety as it Affects Maize (Zea mays) Production in Gombe and Makurdi, Nigeria

Abstract

The experiment’s goal was to investigate the effect of bio-rational nutrients and variety on the growth and yield of maize grown in Gombe and Makurd during the 2020 rainy season. The two treatments used were ILOMAZI (Yellow maize) and SC 667 (white maize) as well as bio-rational nutrient sources such poultry droppings, night soil, dung site, goat manure and control. The treatments were laid out in a three-replicate randomized complete block design. The work was designed with 20 x 75cm spacing.  Physiological variables were measured during the investigation, including growth, plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, and the number of prop roots per plant. Other characteristics included the number of cobs, cob length, cob girth, and cob weight, as well as the number of seeds per cob, the number of grain rows per cob, the 100 gains weight, the threshing percentage, and the grain yield. The study found that maize responded to both varietal and bio-rational nutrient sources in a similar way. All of the parameters studied responded significantly (P ≤ 0.05) to varietal effects, with SC667 (white maize) performing better in terms of plant height (180.11), leaf number (13.21), stem girth (4.21), number of pop root per plant (4.21), and grain yield (4.01tonne/ha). When compared to other nutrient sources, the use of dung site resulted in significantly higher growth, yield, and yield-related characters such as plant height (185.11), number of leaves (14.12), stem girth (4.01), number of pop roots per plant (4.24), and overall yield (4.91). Benue maize outperforms Gombe maize in yield-related characteristics such as number of cobs (Benue 2.83, Gombe 2.12), cob length (Benue 12.12, Gombe 11.16), and 100 grains weight (Benue 22.19, Gombe 21.21), as well as overall yield (Benue 3.99 tonne/ha and Gombe 3.12 tonne/ha). Based on the results, it can be concluded that the use of dung site and SC 667 (white maize variety) maize will result in the highest yield.