EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF BIOFERTILIZER ON MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.) YIELD AND NITROGEN UPTAKE
Synthetic fertilizers have played a significant role in sustaining the rapidly growing population; however, they have also led to significant environmental pollution. Nitrogen (N)-fixing biofertilizers have emerged as an effective alternative or partial substitute for synthetic N fertilizers without compromising crop productivity. A two-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of biofertilizer on maize yield, N uptake, and N use efficiency (NUE). We compared maize crop yield, N uptake, and NUE after the application of synthetic fertilizer (SF), a liquid blend of 28% N with a sulfur additive (26-0-0-2: N-P-K-S), and the co-application of Pivot PROVEN® 40 as a biofertilizer and SF (SF+Bio). In 2022, fields 1 and 2 for each treatment received the same amount of total N, 205 kg ha−1. In 2023, fields 3 and 4 had total N rates of 229 kg ha−1 for SF and 268 kg ha−1 for SF+Bio. No significant differences were observed (p > 0.05) in maize yield and N uptake across all fields, with NUE being significant only in field 4. Maximum maize yields were 14.0, 13.8, 12.4, and 13.0 Mg ha−1 for fields 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. N uptake at R6 was 200, 195, 339, and 360 kg ha−1 for fields 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The NUE values for fields 1, 2, and 3 were 0.99, 0.97, and 1.3, respectively. In field 4, the NUE for SF was 1.61, showing a 24% increase, while SF+Bio had an NUE of 1.3. Overall, substituting a portion of the SF with biofertilizer has positive implications. In the first year, it maintained yield, nitrogen uptake, and NUE, effectively promoting plant growth and development comparable to SF. In the second year, there was no benefit to increasing the N rate, suggesting that the substitution can consistently maintain yield and N uptake while maintaining NUE without the need for higher N inputs.
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- In Collections
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Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- Attribution 4.0 International
- Material Type
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Theses
- Authors
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Munezero, Sarah
- Thesis Advisors
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Basso, Bruno
- Committee Members
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Renner, Karen
Sprunger, Christine
- Date Published
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2025
- Subjects
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Agronomy
- Program of Study
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Crop and Soil Sciences - Master of Science
- Degree Level
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Masters
- Language
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English
- Pages
- 62 pages
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/nnt5-9s83