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THE EFFECT OF NITROGENOUS FERTILIZER ON THE GRAIN YIELD OF SORGHUM (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) AND SOYABEAN (Glycine max L. Merr) MIXTURE
Abstract:
additive although soybean yield was higher in the additive mixture. Inter-cropping changed the response of sorghum to nitrogen fertilizer to give a lower optimum than the sole crop at 80-lOOkg N/ha. The estimated economic optima were Mixed cropping of soybean – sorghum is Common in the Benue State of Nigeria, but no recommendations for fertilizing this mixture exist. Therefore, a field experiment studied the effect of nitrogenous fertilizer on the grain yield of sorghum — soybean mixed crop at Samaru, Zaria, during the rainy season of 1982. The treatments consisted of both sole crops, additive (lOO : 100% of sole crop population) and partially additive (100;50% of sole sorghum and soybean population respectively) mixtures with five nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg N/ha). Fertilizer was applied in two equal doses at sowing and at six weeks and in the mixed crop, it was applied close to the sorghum stands. Both components of the mixture responded positively to nitrogen fertilizer which implied that soybean N—fixation was inadequate to support the highest yield. Interception depressed the grain yield of sorghum to 80% and soybean to 23% of the sole crop. Leaf cover of mixed sorghum with its oeak of 70% at 12 weeks indicated severe shading of soybean. Nodulation of soybean was greatly reduced by nitrogen fertilizer. For these reasons, there was little advantage or disadvantage for mixing as measured either by land equivalent ratio (LER) or by the marketable value but some indication of a small advantage at 30 – 60 kg N/ha. Additive mixture had virtually the same marketable value as partially a at 126 and 65kg N/ha for sole sorghum and soyabean respectively while the intercrop values were 76 and 86kg N/ha for additive and partially additive mixtures respectively. Fertilizer recommendations may, therefore, need to be developed for specific mixed crop combinations.
THE EFFECT OF NITROGENOUS FERTILIZER ON THE GRAIN YIELD OF SORGHUM (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) AND SOYABEAN (Glycine max L. Merr) MIXTURE
