Phosphorus And Nitrogen Fertilization Of Soybean In The Nigerian Savanna
2012
Soybean (Glycine max) is a major cash crop in the savannas of Nigeria although productivity is typically
constrained by poor soil fertility. The objective of this research was to determine the interactive effect
of N and P on soybean productivity in the northern Guinea and Sudan savannas of northeast Nigeria.
Experiments were conducted using locally adapted early and late maturing cultivars. Two rates of N and
three rates of P fertilizer were also compared at both sites over two years. At both sites, pods plant−1 and
seed yield were higher in 2006 than in 2007, possibly due to better rainfall distribution in 2006. Nitrogen
fertilizer had no significant effect on seed yield or pods plant−1. Application of P fertilizer increased pods
plant−1 by 40–66%. Averaged across site and year, seed yield with no P was 1057.2 kg ha−1 while yield
with 20 and 40 kg ha−1 P were 1941.0 kg ha−1 and 2371.5 kg ha−1, respectively. No significant interaction
effect between N and P fertilizer on seed yield and pods plant−1 was observed. The late maturing cultivar
yielded less than the earlier maturity group cultivar in 2007 likely due to moisture stress. For optimum
seed yield 40 kg of P fertilizer ha−1 is recommended for soybean production in both locations. Our results
suggest that N fertilizer is not critical for soybean production in this area.
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