This field experiment was conducted during the 2021 cropping season at the Prince Abubakar Audu University Research and Demonstration farm, Anyigba in the Southern Guinea Savana Agro Ecological Zone of Nigeria to determine the performance of maize varieties under the influence of NPK 20:10:10 and Urea fertilizer application. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used with three replications. The treatment consisted of three NPK 20:10:10 levels (0, 60, 120), Urea (0, 60, 120) and two varieties [Samaz 52 (OPV) and Oba-super-6 (Hybrid)] respectively. Results obtained show that fertilizers application increased growth parameters such as; plant height, days to 1st and 50% flowering. However, Number of leaves/plant, number of spikes/plant and grain weight/cob was not significantly influenced by fertilizer application. There were varietal differences in number of spikes/tassel and threshing %. Oba-super-6 consistently produced taller plants, thicker stems, higher leaf area, more spike/tassels than OPV. Application of NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer at 120kg/ha significantly influence yield and some yield components such as cob length (13.84cm), threshing % (78.61) and final grain yield (4196.30kg/ha), number of grains/cob (355.85), leaf area at 4 and 6WAS (307.21 and 447.28cm) respectively than at the application of 60kg/ha and 0kg/ha. However, application of 120kg N/ha significantly influenced 100-seed weight (29.36). Oba-super-6 out yielded OPV in yield and its components. For the interactions studied, for days to emergence, all factors studied had no significant effect (P ≥ 0.05); for plant height, NPK x V, NPK x N, N x V was significant (P ≤ 0.05), for days to 1st, NPK x N and NPK x N x V was significant (P ≤ 0.05), for days to 50% flowering, NPK x V, N x V and NPK x N x V was significant (P ≤ 0.05). for threshing percent, only NPK x N was significant (P ≤ 0.05); for No. of grains/cob, NPK x N and NPK x N x V was significant (P ≤ 0.05); for 100-seed weight, all factors studied had no significant effect (P ≥ 0.05); for final grain weight, NPK x N and NPK x N x V was significant.
urea, threshing percent, Days to emergence, Final Grain weight, 100-seed weight, variety and interaction, maize
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