Liming and Mineral Fertilization of Acid Soils in Maize Crop within the Savannah of Southwestern of Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

This paper mainly investigated the interactive effects between liming and mineral fertilization in the acid soils in maize crop of the south-west of the DRC, two factors including liming as main factor, at two levels (with and without) and three levels of mineral fertilizers (controls without fertilizer, NPK 12-24-12, NPK12-24-12 + Urea 46%) as secondary factor, were used in a split-plot design with three replications. The results showed that the soils neither limed nor fertilized considerably reduced (p < 0.05) the agronomic performance of maize. However the interactions between liming and mineral fertilizers have significantly influenced (p < 0.05) and positively the growth parameters (height of the insertion) and flowering (day at 50% male flowering and female flowering), and therefore a significant difference (p < 0.05) for grain yield, harvest rate and appearance of the ears. Liming combined to mineral fertilization, in the proportions required for maize cultivation, improved around 50% of the production per unit area of maize gain in the acidic soils of Mvuazi.