Effect of different nitrogen sources on growth, yield and quality of fodder maize (Zea mays L.)

A field experiment was conducted for two consecutive seasons in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 at the demonstration farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan, to investigate the effect of different nitrogen sources on growth, yield and quality of fodder maize (Zea mays L.). The nitrogen sources are urea, nitrophoska (NPK), ammonium sulphate nitrate (ASN) and ammonium sulphate (AS). The design used was completely randomized block design with four replicates. The growth attributes measured, were plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area, leaf area index. Number of days to 50% tasseling, forage yield, crude protein and crude fiber were also investigated in this study. The results revealed that nitrogen sources significantly affected growth parameters at all sampling occasions during the two seasons. Remarkable results noticed at nitrogen sources ASN flowed by NPK and the AS, as compared with urea. The results showed that, the number of the days for 50% tasseling, fresh forage yield and dry forage yield were significantly affected by nitrogen sources during two seasons. Moreover, dry and fresh forage yield, increased progressively by ASN and NPK as compared with other nitrogen sources. The present data revealed that, the crude protein and crude fiber were significantly affected by nitrogen sources in both seasons. The urea gave the lowest crude protein compared with the other nitrogen sources. On the other hand, the lowest crude fiber content was recorded when plant was treated with (ASN) fertilizer, while the highest crude fiber content was recorded only under the control