The Combined Use of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers for Improving Maize Crop Productivity in Nigeria

Recent studies have revealed that the integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers on crop has not received adequate research attention. In this paper, maize is considered among the most important cereal crops in Nigeria and all over the world that has high requirement for organic and inorganic nutrients in order to obtain good quality and high yields. The application of inorganic fertilizer for instance has been found to increase maize performance and chemical properties of soil such as pH, total nutrient content and nutrient availability. On the other hand, its continuous use could cause nutrient imbalance, soil acidity, more so, heavy fertilization in crop production systems could exceed what maize pants are able to utilize and can be a major source of excessive nitrate leaching. Similarly, organic fertilizers are faced with the problems of scarcity, slow nutrient release and difficulty in transportation. In view of these constraints, the combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizers in improving maize crop productivity was reviewed and it was found that the total dependence on organic or inorganic fertilizers does not provide the panacea for enhanced and sustainable maize crop production in Nigeria. Therefore, the combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizers appears to be the last option and recommendation of the paper for sustaining productivity as well as enhancing the farmers’ level of maize production in Nigeria.