Effects of Different Nitrogen Sources on Maize intercropped with Soybean on an Alfisols.

Abstract

A pot experiment was carried out at the screen house of the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Gidan Kwano campus, Minna in the cropping season of 2020. The experiment aimed to evaluate the growth and nodulation of soybean intercropped with maize. Two seeds of each crop were planted per pot containing 14kg of Gidan Kwano soils. A week after sowing, plants the were thinned to a seedling per crop genotype per pot, before basal application of N, P, K, Mg and micronutrients ( B, Mo, Zn). Thereafter, the following cropping system (sole maize, sole soybean, intercropped maize and intercropped soybean) -1were fertilized as follows: -N as 0 kg N ha (control), +inorganic N (urea) as 20 kg -1 -1N ha , +organic N (poultry dropping) as 20 kg N ha and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 110 as 5mls per plant of rhizobium inoculant. Subsequently, treatments were then arranged in a Completely Randomized Design with three replicates. Watering of plants was done daily till harvest at 6 weeks. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA. Means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Results showed that averagely, sole maize was better than intercropped maize in plant height, the number of leaves and root weight but was significantly higher than intercropped maize in leaf area and shoot weight. Averagely, with the exception of days to 50% flowering and nodule weight, sole soybean was better than intercropped soybean in all the growth and nodulation characteristics measured. The sole soybean performed better when inoculated with elite strains of rhizobia USDA110 while the intercropped soybean -1was better when in association with indigenous rhizobium and 0 Kg N ha . Organic Nitrogen of poultry source produced the best maize growth traits that was not significantly different as a result of inoculation of soybean with rhizobia.