Effectiveness and recommendation of NPK-compound fertilization on maize

Abstract

The development of maize plants in the wet tropics was experiencing problems due to a lack of nutrients, especially N, P, and K, so that to get optimal yield, additional nutrients are needed through NPK fertilization. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of fertilizers and provide recommendations for the appropriate dose of compound NPK fertilization (formulation 15:15:15, 20:10,10, and 15:8:10) to increase production, farming efficiency, and income of maize farmers. This research was conducted at the Experimental Farm of Indonesian cereal Research Institute, Maros from June until October 2020. This research was arranged in randomized block design with three replication. The treatment consists of five NPK-compound fertilizers with two doses of NPK+ urea combination. The comparisons were Urea (control) and Urea + SP36+KCl (standard). The results of this research were all formulations of NPK compound fertilizers (15:15:15, 20:10:10, and 15:8:10) deserve to be recommended for maize. Recommendations for applying NPK 15:15:15 compound fertilizer to maize plants are 450 kg/ha combined with 250 kg urea/ha with a yield probability of 12 t/ha. The recommendation for applying 20:10:10 NPK compound fertilizer to maize was 350 kg/ha + 200 kg urea with a yield probability of ±11 t/ha. The recommendation for giving NPK 15:8:10 compound fertilizer for maize was 450 kg/ha combined with 250 kg urea/ha with a yield probability of 11 t/ha.