Evaluation of urea, npk and organomineral fertilizers on the growth, nutrient uptake and yield of maize in nutrient depleted soil

A two-year (2018 and 2019) experiment was carried out at two locations of the Ambrose Alli University Teaching and Research Farm, Ekpoma to evaluate the effect of organic base granular and prilled urea fertilizers on the growth, nutrient uptake and yield of maize. These experiments were fitted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with seven treatments (granular, prilled urea, P&K + 75% granular urea, P&K + 75% N prilled urea (NPK), P&K + 75% N granular urea + 25% N through farmyard manure (FYM), P&K + 75% N prilled urea + 25% N FYM and the control) replicated thrice. The soil and organic manure were analyzed; the soil nutrient status was below critical values; therefore, the application of fertilizer was necessary. The application of fertilizers either sole or combination improved the soil nutrient, growth and yield of maize significantly compared to the control. The application of P&K + 75% N granular urea + 25% N through FYM and P&K + 75% N prilled urea+25% N through FYM significantly (P≤0.05) increased the growth, grain yield and nutrient uptake of maize compared to other treatments. The application of P&K + 75% N granular urea + 25% N through FYM increased the growth and yield of maize than the application of P&K + 75% N prilled urea+25% N through FYM. Therefore, the application of P&K + 75% N granular urea + 25% N through FYM can be recommended to farmers.