JSFA
Response of Maize (Zea Mays L.) to Applied NPS and N Fertilizer Rates at the Midlands of the Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia
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Abstract
Maize is one of the staple food crops in Ethiopia in general and in the study area specifically. However, inappropriate use of fertilizers resulted in low productivity of the crop. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of blended NPS and N fertilizer rates on maize grain yield and yield components and to determine the economically optimum rate of blended NPS and N that can maximize the productivity of maize in the study area. The treatment consisted of a factorial combination of five levels of blended NPS (0, 100, 150, and 200 kg ha-1) and four levels of N from urea (0, 23, 46, and 69 kg ha-1) fertilizer rates. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Analysis of variance showed that grain yield, number of seeds per cob, days to tassel, and days to maturity were significantly influenced by the interaction of NPS and N, while thousand-kernel weight and cob weight were affected by the main effect. The results showed that the highest grain yield (4781 kg ha-1) and net benefit (114856.26 ETB ha-1) with an acceptable marginal rate of return (500.46%) were obtained from the plot treated with 200 kg ha-1 of NPS and 46 kg ha-1 of N fertilizer rates. The control treatment (0 NPS + 0 N) produced 2606 kg ha⁻¹, representing a 45% yield increase with fertilizer application. Therefore, based on the results obtained from this study, the application of 200 kg ha-1 of blended fertilizer supplemented with 46 kg ha-1 of N fertilizer can be suggested as profitable for the production of maize in the study area and similar soil conditions and agro-ecologies.
Keywords
Grain; interaction effect; main effect; economic benefit; production
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How to cite this paper
Response of Maize (Zea Mays L.) to Applied NPS and N Fertilizer Rates at the Midlands of the Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia
How to cite this paper: Seyoum Alemu, Yared Tesfaye, Aliyi Kedir, Kuma Kebede. (2026) Response of Maize (Zea Mays L.) to Applied NPS and N Fertilizer Rates at the Midlands of the Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia. International Journal of Food Science and Agriculture, 10(3), 220-230.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijfsa.2026.09.003
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