Studies on Policy Option for Quality Seed Production and ... - NFPCSP

medium farmers in Rajshahi and 85% of the large farmers in Dinajpur applied TSP and MP. The studyalso reveals that the large and medium farmers compared to small farmers were more motivated inapplying macronutrients as well as microelements like Boron-containing fertilizers.Table 4.3.13 Percent of farmers using fertilizers for maize cultivationin the study areas (2008-09)Farmers’ category%Farmers applied fertilizers in maizeManure Urea TSP MP Gyp Zn BRajshahiLarge 63 100 78 62 51 47 -Medium 53 100 84 59 57 50 -Small 44 100 46 36 28 14 -Average 53 100 69 53 45 37 -CV (%) 17.84 - 12.37 13.21 10.65 16.21 -DinajpurLarge 58 100 82 85 87 27 12Medium 61 100 78 81 84 31 7Small 37 100 46 52 64 0 0Average 52 100 69 73 78 19 6CV (%) 21.41 - 10.32 15.24 11.47 15.47 12.12KishoregonjLarge 75 100 47 57 15 - -Medium 81 100 43 52 17 - -Small 62 100 22 18 2 - -Average 73 100 37 42 11 - -CV (%) 17.23 - 14.12 16.41 13.47 - -Average (all sites) 59 100 58 56 45 19 24.3.16 Seed and fertilizer application rate for maize cultivationThe seed rate applied for maize cultivation (average 19.0 kg/ha) was close to the recommended rate inthe study areas (Table 4.3.14). But the average application rate of manure and urea were 4764kg and304 kg/ha, respectively. On the other hand, the average application rate of TSP, MP, gypsum, zinc andboron were 83kg, 73kg, 70kg, 2.5kg and 3.6 kg/ha, respectively. It is observed that the applied chemicalfertilizers were far low compared to the recommended doses except urea. The rates of urea were higherthan that of their recommended dose at all the study sites. Moreover, the small farmers applied loweramount of urea compared to medium and large categories of farmers. These imbalanced usages ofmanure and fertilizers hamper the nutrient uptake by maize plants causing lower productivity. The mainreasons for unbalanced fertilizer use are the high price of fertilizers, farmers’ insufficient knowledge inrespect of integrated crop management (ICM) and shortage of money, especially in case of small andmedium farmers.Ali et al. (2008) reported that soil nutrient depletion is often accelerated with maize versus rice orwheat because of the higher biomass production, greater nutrient requirements, and increased nutrientremoval. As a C 4 crop, maize planted in the Rabi season can produce about 10 t/ha of grain and 12 t/hanon-grain biomass. To produce such high yields, maize plants must take up about 200 kg N, 30 kg P,93