EFFECTS OF FERTILIZER APPLICATION ON CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY OF SOIL AND YIELD OF MAIZE (ZEA MAYS) IN AGO-IWOYE FARM SETTLEMENT

Abstract

The importance of cation exchange capacity (CEC) for knowing the amount of nutrients the soil can retain for plant utilization when fertilizers are applied cannot be over-emphasised. This study was carried out to find out the effect of the fertilizer types: N-P- K 15:15:15, urea and air dried poultry droppings (PDs) by three different application methods and their effects on the CEC of soil and growth yield of maize. The experiment was in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments including control using the three different application methods. Soil samples were collected before planting at two different soil depth levels. The fertilizers were applied using the three fertilizer treatment application methods 2 weeks after planting with a control that received no treatment application. The same procedure was used for soil samples collected after harvest to determine the effects of fertilizer treatments and application methods on the soil of the study area. Growth and yield parameters were also determined for the grown maize. The soil chemical analysis results showed that the CEC (cmol/kg) of the soil was generally (1.75) before planting and after harvest that of PDs (9.95) by broadcasting method and control (9.60) which were significantly higher than those of N-P- K (7.94) and urea (6.84) by broadcasting method at 5% level of probability. Results obtained show that the PDs had the highest effect on the CEC of the soil but urea gave the best result in terms of crop yields. Keywords: Cation exchange capacity, Fertilizer treatment, Urea, Poultry droppings, Zea mays