Residual Fertilizer Value of OBD-plus Compost for Maize (Zea mays) Production

Ability of a fertilizer to contribute to crop performance beyond a cropping season is a positive consideration in soil fertility management. Thus, the residual fertilizer effects of OBD-plus (new commercial compost from market organic wastes and animal manure with composting accelerated with a specific microorganism) were investigated, using maize (Zea mays) as the test crop.

The field experiment replicated three times was conducted at the experimental site of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Nigeria. Experimental design was randomized complete block design with 5, 10 and 15 t/ha OBD-plus compost, mineral fertilizer (300 kg/ha NPK 15-15-15) and Control (no soil additive) as treatments. The different levels of compost were applied two weeks before planting while the mineral fertilizer was applied 2 weeks after planting. The treatment means were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the means were compared using standard error of means (SEM).

The results of this investigation on grain yield revealed that residual fertilizer effects of fertilizer treatments were in order of 10 t/ha OBD (35.02 kg/ha) >5 t/ha OBD (20.62 kg/ha)> NPK 15-15-15 (25.24 kg/ha)>Control (14.40 kg / ha).>15 t / ha OBD (11.20 kg/ha).Thus the result of this finding suggests that OBD-Plus at the rate of 10 t/ha could support maize production beyond a cropping season (i.e have residual effects) and this could save maize farmers’ money.