Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, D: Agriculture and Veterinary, Volume 22 Issue 1

Table 8: Economic performance of maize under different Treatments (Screen House) Economic performance Yield (T/ha) Revenue/ maize treatment ₦ Total Variable cost ( ₦ ) Total Fixed cost ( ₦ ) Total cost ( ₦ ) Net farm income ₦ Rev/cost Ratio Treatment: Solid screen house A 1.92be 480,000 18,500 8,000 26,500 453,500 18:1 B 1.94bc 485 ,000 18,500 8,000 26,500 458,500 18:1 C 1.86bc 465,000 18,500 8,000 26,500 438,500 17:1 D 2.12a 525,000 200,000 8,000 208,000 317,000 3:1 Treatments: Spray screen house A 1.43f-h 357,500 18,500 8,000 26,500 331,000 13:1 B 1.49fg 372,500 18,500 8,000 26,500 346,000 14:1 C 1.45fh 362,500 18,500 8,000 26,500 336,000 13:1 D 2.1ab 525,000 200,000 8,000 208,000 317,000 3:1 Field analysis, 2020 iii. Economic performance of maize under Organic and inorganic fertilizers using solid approach on the field Table 8 shows variations in the economic performances of maize under organic and inorganic fertilizers applied as solid on the field. The performance followed the earlier discussions on maize yield and other agronomic traits except that the control (D= the inorganic fertilizer) with the highest yield gave way to treatment B =120N+50P+40K in terms of economic performance. Treatment B had the highest net income because of its low cost. The net income from treatment B =120N+50P+40K stood at N 1,733,500 per hectare while that of control with the recommended dose 90kg/ha of NPK 15-15-15 was N1,662,000 per hectare Although there was no significant difference (p<0.05) between the two. The implication of this outcome is that Moringa /banana / maize mixture (organic fertilizer) at the rate of 120N+50P+40K competes well with inorganic fertilizer and can replace it use conveniently. Also, that the adoption and use of this organic mixture at the recommended rate of 120N+50P+40K will facilitate sustainable income of maize farmers. VI. S ummary The study was carried out to investigate the possibility of optimizing maize crop production in Africain order to maximize net farm income of rural farmers using moringa leaves/bananapeels/maize stalk technology. Also, to specifically investigate the effect of different rate of combining the mixtures (treatments) on the growth, yield and net returns of maize with a view of choosing appropriate combination that will maximize net farm income. And to also compare the yield and economic performance of maize on the field and screen house. Four treatments were considered and each represented a technology on field/screen trials conducted in 2021. These include; A=100N+40P+30K, B= 120N+50P+40K, C= 70N+30P+20K and the control using the national recommended dose of 90kg/ha of NPK fertilizer. Results of the study showed that: 1. Application of organic fertilizer in solid form incorporated into the soil a week before planting produced the highest number of leaves, tallest plants, and heaviest cobs on both the field and screen house experiments. The observed variations across the treatments follow the order of 90kg NPK >120N+50P+40K > 100N+40P+30K while 70N+ 30P+20K was always having the least. 2. Economic performance of the treatments under solid fertilizer application were better than those under foliar application. 3. Economic performance of maize under the or application as solid or as spray in the screen house are significantly (p<0.05) lower than the performance on the field 4. The result of the study showed variation in the economic performances of maize under organic and inorganic fertilizers applied as solid on the field. The inorganic fertilizer applied at the national recommended dose of 90kg/ha NPK had excellent performance in all the agronomic traits (highest number of leaves, tallest plants biggest grain yield) but failed in the area of net farm income. Treatment B = 120N+50P+40K had the highest net farm income of. # 1,733,500 ($3,352) while inorganic fertilizer had N1,662,000 ($3,324) both per hectare respectively. VII. C onclusion and R ecommendation The outcome of the study revealed that; Moringa-banana peel-maize stalk fertilizer incorporated in the soil in solid form, a week before planting at the rate of 120N+50P+40K on the open field provided Potential of Bio-Organic Mix as an Alternative to Inorganic Fertilizer in Maize Production in Africa © 2022 Global Journals 1 Year 2022 18 Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXII Issue ersion I VI ( D )