Assessment of Climatic Factors on Growth and Yield of Maize Variety as Influenced by Rates of Sunshine Organic Manure and NPK 20:10:10 Fertilizer

Maize is one of the most important cereal crops in West Africa. Its production in Nigeria has been hindered by inconsistency in rainfall pattern and low fertility especially in Akure, Ondo State. Two experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in 2016 growing season (wet and dry seasons) to determine the effects of Sunshine Organic Manure and NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer on the growth and yield maize variety, as well in soil fertility improvement. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications per treatment. Suwan-1-SR-Ymaize varietywas used for the experiment and Sunshine Organic manure was applied at the rates of 0, 60, 90, and 120kg N ha-1while NPK 20:10:10 was used as standard at the rate of 70 kg N ha-1. Growth parameters (plant height and number of leaves per plant) were taken at two weeks interval for 12 weeks. At harvest, yield parameters (Seed weight/plant, Weight of 1000 seed (g), Number of seeds/cob, Yield in t ha-1, cob length (cm), cob girth (cm)) were determined. The following weather data were collected; Daily rainfall, maximum & minimum temperature and solar radiation, while the soil data collected were; pH, total N, available phosphorus, potassium, organic carbon, and bulk density. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the data analyses. Mean separation was done using Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Results showed an increase in growth and yield parameters recorded with increasing application rates of Sunshine Organic Manure in both growing season.