The effect of the application of liquid complex fertilizers and mixtures based on them on the productivity of corn in the conditions of the Western Polissia

Abstract

The issues of optimising the phosphorous nutrition of corn are becoming increasingly relevant due to trends in the increasing cost of mineral fertilisers and meteorological risks in the post-sowing period. The purpose of the study is to determine the economic efficiency of liquid complex fertilisers applied during corn sowing as the main source of phosphorus and as an additional element in the nutrition system. A field experiment was performed, which included options for applying LCF, separate application of granular mineral fertiliser, joint use of LCF and granular fertiliser, and tank mixtures of LCF with zinc and a bacterial product based on Pseudomonas fluorenses to implement the set tasks. It was identified that the use of LCF in sowing contributes to a better supply of young plants with phosphorus, and, as a result, to the development of a more productive cob. Therewith, the use of LCF exclusively as a food source in doses up to 50-60 L/ha does not allow for realising the inherent potential and leads to a lack of grains from the cob compared with the option with full nutrition. The highest yield was obtained in the version using granular fertiliser and 60 litres of liquid complex fertiliser mixed with a bacterial preparation, while the yield increase relative to the version without granular fertiliser was 32% (2.8 t/ha). Separate application of liquid complex fertiliser under no circumstances provided a result comparable to the application of granular fertiliser, but the addition of 25 L/ha of LCF to the main application of granular fertiliser allowed obtaining a yield increase of 1.3 t/ha. The results obtained prove the high efficiency of the liquid form of starter fertiliser when applied on light granulometric soils and should be considered when planning resource-saving technology for growing corn in an area with a high degree of meteorological risks