Effect of organic fertilizer and urea on growth, yield and quality of fodder maize (zea mays l.)

A field experiment was conducted for two consecutive seasons in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 at the demonstration farm of the faculty of agriculture – Omdurman Islamic University – Sudan, to investigate the effect of organic manure and urea applied alone and in combination on growth, yield and quality of fodder maize (Zea Mays L.).The organic fertilizer was cattle and chicken manure. The design used was spilt – plot with four replicates. The growth parameters measured were plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area index. Reproduction attributes investigated were days to 50% tasseling – silking and fresh/dry matter yield. The crude protein and crude fibre were also investigated. The results revealed that organic manure and urea significantly affected growth parameters at all sampling occasions during the two seasons. Remarkable results noticed at combination of organic fertilizer with urea followed by single addition of manure and urea. The results showed that the number of the days to 50% tasseling, fresh and dry matter yield were significantly affected by organic manure and urea during two seasons. Moreover, fresh and dry matter yield increased progressively by the combination of chicken manure and urea compared to the others treatments. The present data revealed that the crude protein and crude fibre were non significantly by organic manure and urea in both seasons. Generally crude protein and crude fibre were higher in the second seasons compared to first season.