Performance of hybrid and local maize with and without fertilizer in Western Kenya
1997
Ojiem, J.O. | Ransom, J.K. | Wakhonya, H.W.
Hybrid maize varieties have not been widely adopted in the mid-altitude zones of western Kenya. Farmers consider their local varieties to be superior to hybrids under the production system practised. Performance of hybrids and local maize varieties were compared on-farm, with and without added fertilizer during the long and short rains seasons in 1994 and, on a nutrient depleted soil at the Kakamega Regional Research Center, during the long rains season 1995. The design was a split-plot with three replicates with fertilizer levels (60 kg N plus 60 kg P205/ha and no fertilizer) as the main plots and varieties as the sub-plots. Grain yield was consistently higher with the addition of fertilizer. There were no significant genotype by fertility level interactions. Without fertilizer, the unimproved varieties performed at par with the hybrids, while with fertilizer, the best hybrid had 2.9 t/ha higher grain yield than the best unimproved variety. Total above-ground dry matter accumulation was highest for H614 and lowest for Nyamula. These results suggest that without fertilizer, the unimproved local varieties are probably as productive as the hybrids. However, when fertilizer is used, hybrids are the most productive. Given the rapidly increasing prices of hybrid seed, farmers seem to be justified in selecting their own local seed for production under low input production conditions. Future maize improvement research should consider the development of open pollinated varieties for low input conditions.
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