Effects of NP Fertilizer Placement Depth by Year Interaction on the Number of Maize (Zea mays L.) Plants after Emergence Using the Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction Model

Field experiments were carried out at the Department of Agronomy of the Poznań University of Life Sciences to determine the effect of the depth of NP fertilization placement in maize cultivation on the number of plants after emergence. The adopted assumptions were verified based on a six-year field experiment involving four depths of NP fertilizer application (A1—0 cm (broadcast), A2—5 cm (in rows), A3—10 cm (in rows), A4—15 cm (in rows)). The objective of this study was to assess NP fertilizer placement depth, in conjunction with the year, on the number of maize (Zea mays L.) plants after emergence using the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model. The number of plants after emergence decreased with the depth of NP fertilization in the soil profile, confirming the high dependence of maize on phosphorus and nitrogen availability, as well as greater subsoil loosening during placement. The number of plants after emergence for the experimental NP fertilizer placement depths varied from 7.237 to 8.201 plant m⁻² during six years, with an average of 7.687 plant m⁻². The 61.51% of variation in the total number of plants after emergence was explained by years differences, 23.21% by differences between NP fertilizer placement depths and 4.68% by NP fertilizer placement depths by years interaction. NP fertilizer placement depth 10 cm (A3) was the most stable (ASV = 1.361) in terms of the number of plants after emergence among the studied NP fertilizer placement depths. Assuming that the maize kernels are placed in the soil at a depth of approx. 5 cm, the fertilizer during starter fertilization should be placed 5 cm to the side and below the kernel. Deeper NP fertilizer application in maize cultivation is not recommended. The condition for the use of agriculture progress, represented by localized fertilization, is the simultaneous recognition of the aspects of yielding physiology of new maize varieties and the assessment of their reaction to deeper seed placement during sowing.