Evaluating the effectiveness of Apex10 as a plant growth Bio-stimulant and soil conditioner in maize production
- Author
- Pukuta, Alexio.
- Title
-
Evaluating the effectiveness of Apex10 as a plant growth Bio-stimulant and soil conditioner in maize production
- Abstract
- Maize (Zea mays) is a staple food cereal crop in Zimbabwe which is widely grown in almost all the farming regions of Zimbabwe. Despite the advancement in the use of many farming products that increase yield, maize ou¬¬¬¬¬¬tput has declined drastically in our Zimbabwe. A study was carried out at Holland Farm in Mvurwi to evaluate the beneficial use of bio-stimulants and soil conditioners in maize production focusing on growth in terms of stem height, belowground and above ground biomass and final yield of maize. The study employed Apex 10 which is a plant bio-stimulant and soil conditioner in maize. The experiment utilized a 2 × 4 factorial treatment structure, laid in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and slope was used as the blocking a factor. The bio-stimulant was applied in four different rates which are 3l ha-1 (30 ml per plant 100%), 2.25l ha-1 (22.5 ml per plant 75%), 1.5l ha-1 (15mls per plant.50%) and 0l ha-1 (0 ml per plant 0%) and two different maize varieties that is SC 659 and ZS265 were used to evaluate the effects of Apex 10. The data collected during the experiment was subjected to statistical analysis of variance using R software (version 4.5.0). statistical package at 5% level of significance. The results showed that an increase in the bio-stimulants and soil conditioner concentration to 3l h-1 (100%) showed higher performance on all parameters with the highest yield, stem height, below and above ground biomass. The reduction in application rate of Apex 10 resulted in reduction in the above stated parameters with the control treatment with 0l ha-1 performed poorly on all the growth and yield parameters tested. The application of bio-stimulant and soil conditioner can therefore be used to increase plant growth in stem height, below and above plant biomass and the yield of maize at 3l ha-1 to achieve the highest yield. Apex 10 should be integrated with high performing varieties such as SC659 leads to even greater returns.
- Date
- June 2025
- Publisher
- BUSE
- Keywords
- Maize Production
- Apex 10
- Supervisor
- Mr J. Chitamba,
- Item sets
- Department of Crop Sciences
