Effects of soil moisture and soil type on seed germination and early growth of maize (Zea mays) for winter cropping · Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author: Paso, Ben
Title: Effects of soil moisture and soil type on seed germination and early growth of maize (Zea mays) for winter cropping
Abstract: Soil type and soil moisture are essential for seed germination and for early development of maize seedling. The study was conducted to assess germination percentage, biomass weight and stem height of Zea mays under different soil moisture levels and soil type in maize winter production. The experiment was laid down in a Randomised Complete Block Design arranged in a factorial manner. There were two factors which were soil type and soil moisture level. There were four moisture levels which were 30%, 40%, 70% and 100%. Soil type had sand soils and clay soils. The results indicated that there was no significant effect on soil type and soil moisture levels in maize germination (p=0.297). Moisture content also showed no significant interaction in germination (p=0.324). there was a significant interation in soil type and moisture content in biomass weight (p=0.038) and soil type also showed significant effects (p=0.04). Soil type in stem height showed no significant effects (p=0.707). The trial outcome strongly recommends farmers to consider for greater germination percentage and maximal early development in sand soils, to use 30% and 70% moisture content, respectively.
Date: October 2024
Publisher: BUSE
Keywords: Seed germination; Maize germination; Maize growth
Supervisor: Mr Chikasha