Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizer and Sowing Density on Forage Yield of Corn in an Agroforestry System

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Abstract

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different sowing densities and nitrogen fertilizer rates on quantitative and qualitative corn forage yield in an agroforestry system with orange trees. The treatments consisted of 4 nitrogen fertilizer levels of 0, 100, 200, and 300kg N/ha (allocated to main plots) and 4 sowing densities of 80000, 110000, 140000 and 170000 of corn seeds (plants) per hectare (allocated to sub plots). The experimental plots being kept either weed free or weed infested were allocated to sub-sub plots. The treatments were arranged as split-split plots in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The forage dry matter yield followed an increasing trend as nitrogen fertilizer and sowing density increased. The highest forage dry matter of around 34000 kg/ha was achieved at 170000 plants/ha while receiving 300kg/ha of nitrogen. The largest orange fruit diameter was observed in 100Kg N/ha and 80000 plants/ha which was not significantly different from 300 kg of N/ha treatment.

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