Nutrient Uptake in Different Maize Varieties (Zea mays L.) Planted in Tropical Peat Materials

Abstract

Oligotrophic tropical peat soils are usually deemed unsuitable for cropping common crops such as maize due to low pH and nutrient deficiency. This research aims to compare potassium, calcium, and magnesium uptake between different varieties of maize planted in two types of peat materials. This study investigated the growth of selected maize varieties by comparing the nutrient uptake between three different varieties of maize (V1-Asia Manis, V2-Super A, and V3-Pearl Waxy) planted on hemic and sapric, respectively, without any application of fertilisers. Significant interactions were found where different maize varieties responded differently in the nutrient uptake when planted in different peat materials. Super A (V2) significantly recorded the highest uptake for all nutrients (679.71 mg) when planted in hemic, followed by V1 (422.03 mg) and V3 (314.77 mg) when planted in sapric. Super A was found to be superior to the two varieties, where it was more efficient in absorbing nutrients from the peat materials, having significantly higher dry matter weight (26.37 g) than V1 (19.26 g) and V3 (13.67 g). Hemic and sapric could support the growth of all three maize varieties up till the tasselling stage without any fertiliser application.