Effects of manure and fertilizer on maize at a research station and in a smallholder (peasant) area of Zimbabwe

The use of manure and fertilizer to increase maize yield is a common practice in the smallholder-farming sector of Zimbabwe. In this study the effects of manure and fertilizer on maize growth, yield, and nutrient uptake were evaluated at Grasslands Research Station and at Matiza in Chihota communal area from 1983/84 to 1988/89 as a part of a wider project on sandveld soils in Zimbabwe. Comparisons were made between 15 t ha− 1 of manure applied biannually and annual applications of 150 and 300 kg ha− 1 of Compound D (8% N, 14% P2O5, 7% K2O, and 6.5% S) fertilizer. Feedlot manure applied at Grasslands increased grain yield by a seasonal average of 16% compared with 8–9% for the fertilizer additions; the residual effects of manure being about the same as the direct effects. At Matiza, three direct applications of smallholder area manure resulted in a mean yield increment of 59% while the fertilizer treatments enhanced yield by 34–63%; but there was little residual effect (10%) of manure. Increase in nutrient...