Effect of sowing dates and micro-dosing of fertilizers on maize yield in Benin

Under climate change conditions, altering the sowing time serves as an accessible method to mitigate water stress for agricultural crops. Specialists conducted a two-year field trial at the agricultural research center in the village of Ina, located in the Sudanese climate zone with annual precipitation ranging from 900 to 1300 mm and an average temperature of about 27.5°C. The site's soils are tropical ferruginous, sandy loams, with mineral deficiency and low soil fertility. The experiment used three sowing times (early, normal, and late), five maize cultivars, and five fertilizer application options.

The study examined the DMR cultivar (susceptible to drought), as well as drought-tolerant TZEE, TZE, 2008Syn, and 2000Syn. Fertilizer options included an unfertilized control, three micro-dosing levels (MD1: 25 kg N + 4 kg P per hectare, MD2: 25 kg N + 8 kg P per hectare, MD3: 35 kg N + 8 kg P per hectare), and the recommended rate (RR: 76 kg N + 13 kg P per hectare). Compared to normal sowing, the grain harvest under early sowing was 9.9% higher, and under late sowing it was 10.2% lower.

The grain yield of drought-tolerant cultivars TZEE, TZE, 2008Syn, and 2000Syn exceeded the performance of the DMR cultivar by 29.9%, 37.8%, 26.5%, and 12.5%, respectively. Fertilizer application in options MD1, MD2, MD3, and RR increased the yield by 153.3%, 200.9%, 247.2%, and 220.8% compared to the control. The DMR cultivar demonstrated the highest average yield at the recommended fertilizer application rate, whereas drought-tolerant cultivars achieved maximum performance at the MD3 dosage. The obtained results confirmed that late sowing reduces maize performance, while drought-tolerant cultivars and fertilizer micro-dosing increase average productivity independently of each other.