The SoilCares fertiliser leaflet gives a brief background on the recommendation module used by SoilCares. Calculation rules and product formulation are adapted to local conditions and differ for different countries and/or customers within a country.

Maize cultivationMaize (Zea mays) is one of the emerging cereal cash crops having wider adaptability under a variety of climatic conditions. Maize can be grown throughout the year depending on climate or whether it’s irrigated or rain-fed, for various purposes including fodder for animals, food grain, sweet corn, baby corn, popcorn and green cobs. Maize also serves as raw material to industrial products for such as oil, starch, alcoholic beverages, pharmaceuticals, food sweeteners, food cereals, cosmetics and gum, textile, package and paper industries.

Maize is propagated from well selected seed which is planted in a well prepared seedbed. Depending on the cultivar type and weather conditions, maize will take 60 to 120 days to maturity.

Maize is subject to groups of diseases such as foliar diseases, stalk rots and smuts, ear rots caused by fungi, and those caused by viruses and mollicutes that include corn stunt, maize dwarf mosaic virus, maize streak virus and sugarcane mosaic virus. Some pests that commonly affect maize plants are African maize stem borer, African pink borer, armyworm, corn leaf aphids, Corn stunt leafhoppers, cutworms, etc. and those that affect grain are angoumois grain moth, corn earworm, ear maggot, grain borers, grain weevils, Indian meal moth, seedcorn maggot, rats and birds.

FertiliserRecommendation

MAIZE

Maize serves as raw material to the alcoholic beverages industry, pharmaceutical industry, food cereals, cosmetics, gum, textile, package and paper industries.

SoilCares Fertiliser Recommendation MAIZE

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Crop nutrient management Maize usually grows well over a pH range of 5.5 to 7.8. Outside this range, availability of nutrients to maize plants can be strongly affected, causing a reduction in plant growth. Maize uses substantial amounts of N, P and K and relatively small amounts of Mg, Ca, S, Fe, Zn and B. The nutrients taken up by the plants are supplied either from soil reserves or by adding nutrients. A deficiency of any of these nutrients can reduce yields. Fertiliser application is done at planting to correct deficiencies of essential nutrients and to replace nutrients removed in harvested crop products. Further deficiencies are corrected through foliar applications following tissue analysis.

The fertiliser recommendations developed by SoilCares are determined using the measured soil properties and the characteristics of the crop the farmer is growing. The SoilCares recommendation consists of two parts: a soil correction plan to bring the soil to an adequate soil fertility level and a crop removal replacement related to the yield level of the crop. The recommendation is the sum of the soil correction and the nutrient uptake by the crop. The soil correction rates, i.e. the rate of nutrients to be applied to reach or maintain adequate soil fertility is subject to differentiation into differently responding units. E.g. different agro-ecological zones may require different rates of fertiliser to reach or maintain adequate soil fertility level even when similar soil chemical properties are measured. This is caused by e.g. differences in loss processes. The differentiation level and the corresponding soil correction rates are determined in collaboration with the customer.

The SoilCares fertiliser recommendation system

Used Literature

Handbook for Integrated Soil Fertility Management (Africa Soil Health Consortium)Field Crop Manual: Maize-A Guide to Upland Production in CambodiaIFA World Fertiliser Use Manual

Nutrient uptake for maize (kg/tonne)

N 42

P 7

K 21

Application rates for different soil fertility classes (kg/ha)

Element low medium high

N 170 100 50

P 130 90 45

K 120 80 40

pH 2 1 0

Table 1. Ranges for different soil fertility classes. These ranges are specified per country.

Table 2. Crop nutrient uptake rates.

Nutrient deficiency symptoms in maizeNITROGEN: Yellowing of the lower leaves along the midrib; leaf margins may remain greenPHOSPHORUS: Purple or reddish color on older leaves and usually disappears before the plant reaches 18 to 24 inchesPOTASSIUM: Yellowing or browning along the edges of the lower leaves with the midrib remaining greenSULFUR: The entire plant is stunted and light green in color; yellowing between veins in leaves at timesZINC: Broad bands of bleached or yellow tissue on either side of the midrib of mature leaves beginning at the base of the leaf. Leaf midrib and margins remain green.