Mineral Nutrition of Maize
Description:... Background information. Origin. Economic importance. Adaptation. Plant characteristics agronomic significance. Growth and development. Varieties. Cropping systems and rotations. Are crop rotations obsolescent?. Technological innovations. Limitations of monoculture. Economic aspects. Types of rotations practiced for maize. Place of maize in the rotation. Tillage. Conventional methods. Newer concepts in tillage methods. From sowing to harvest. Sowing. Plant population density. Planting patterns. Chemical weed control. Irrigation. Disease and insect control. Harvesting. Maize for green forage and silage. Nutritional requeriments of maize. Macronutrients and secondary nutrients. Net needs for nutrients. Nutrient supplying power of the soil. The soil as a source of nutrients. Nitrogen. Phosphorus. Potassium. Secondary nutrients. The soil as a storehouse of nutrients. Dynamics of nutrient uptake and distribution in the plant. Nutrient absorption. Movement of ions from the soil into from the soil solution. Movement of ions from soil solution to root surface. Accumulation of dry matter and nutrients by the plant during different stages of growth. The effects of fertilizers on dry matter production, growth and morphology. Dry matter production. Assimilating area. Effect of fertilizers on the assimilating area. Growth and morphology. Effects of nutrients on plant composition and quality. Composition and quality of the grain. Nutritive value of forage maize. Interactions between nutrient elements. Nutrient balance and its importance. Factors which influence interactions among ions. Interactions between paris of nutrients. Interrelationships between potassium and other nutrients. Cation - anion balance. Determining fertilizer requirements. Soils tests. Plant tissue tests. Deficiency symptoms. Field experiments. The choice of fertilizer carriers. Relative value of various fertilizer carriers of nitrogen. Relative value of various carriers of phosphorus. Relative value of various carriers of potassium. Secondary nutrient carriers. Micronutrient carriers. Methods and timing of fertilizer application. Techniques of application. Timing of fertilizer applications. Response to fertilizers in relation to environment. Aerial environment. Interactions of fertilizers with edaphic factors. Fertilizer use in relation to crop management practices. Interactions of fertilization with crop rotation. Plant population and competition for nutrients. fertilizer practice in relation ti tillage. Fertilizers in relation to disease, pest and weed control. Heredity and fertilizer utilization. Nutrition variation due to genetical factors. Fertilizer practice. General recommendations. Fertilizing for maximum yields in the United States. Fertilizer use patterns in a number of selected countries. Fertilizer use in developing countries. Economics of fertilizer use.
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