Fertilizer Recommendation

The objective of this study was to investigate appropriate fertilization schemes to improve the production of maize and sorghum in the Sahel agroecological zone of Cameroon. The experiment was carried out in 2018 at IRAD (Institute of Agricultural Research for Development) Kismatari experimental field. The experimental setup was a complete randomized block design in four replicates and four treatments for each crop. For maize, treatments were: T1 (No input), T2 (100 kg NPK + 100 kg Urea.ha-1), T3 (150 kg NPK + 150 kg Urea.ha-1), and T4 (200 kg NPK + 200 kg Urea.ha-1). For sorghum, treatments were: T1 (No input), T2 (50 kg NPK + 50 kg Urea.ha-1), T3 (100 kg NPK + 100 kg Urea.ha-1), and T4 (150 kg NPK + 150 kg Urea.ha-1). All fertilizer treatments NPK and urea were applied to both crops respectively at 3 and 5 weeks after sowing. Nine weeks after sowing, the plant height was highest at T3, following by T2 and T4 for the two crops. The treatment Original Research Article Temegne et al.; JEAI, 42(8): 50-58, 2020; Article no.JEAI.60683 51 T1 exhibited the lowest grain yield while T2 and T3 showed intermediate grain yield. The treatment T4 produced the highest biomass, number of ears.plant-1 , and grain yield (maize: 3.3 t. ha-1 , sorghum: 2.9 t.ha-1) for the two crops and thus appears to be the most appropriate fertilizer recommendation for maize and sorghum production in the Sahel zone. However, costs-benefits studies for the use of fertilizer NPK and urea are warranted to facilitate adoption by farmers in the agroecological zone.

Field experiment was conducted to study the impact of sulfur (S) and boron (B) on yield and yield component of broccoli. Sulfur was applied @ 0 (control), 20 and 40 kg ha -1 as elemental sulfur while B was applied at the rate 0, 1 and 1.5 kg ha -1 as borax along with a basal dose of N,P and K @ 120, 90 and 60 kg ha -1 . All the fertilizers were applied at the time of sowing. The experimental design used was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The data on plant height, number of leaves, flower diameter, head yield and biological mass were recorded along with S and B concentration in soil after crop harvesting. The result revealed that yield and yield parameter increased with increasing levels of S and B with higher head yield, flower diameter and plant height were observed when 40 kg ha -1 S and 1.5 kg ha -1 B were applied. It was further noted that head yield and head diameter were non-significant when averaged across the B treatment between 20 and 40 kg ha -1 applied S but significant from control. Similarly, when the yield parameters were average across the S treatment, there was a significant and linear increase with higher B level. Soil analysis showed that both B an S concentration in soil increased by increasing level of applied S and B. So the optimum level of S and B for broccoli was 40 and 1.5 kg ha -1 respectively for higher yield of broccoli.