International Journal of Agronomy / 2024 / Article / Tab 1 / Research Article
Agronomic and Economic Performance of Rain-Fed Maize (Zea mays L.) Production under Varying Sowing Dates and Multinutrient Fertilizer Levels in Shire Area, Northern Ethiopia Table 1 Chemical and physical characteristics of the study soil prior to maize seed sowing in both cropping seasons.
Soil property Soil depths 0–30 cm 31–60 cm 61–90 cm 2018 2019 2018 2019 2018 2019 Chemical properties pH (1 : 2.5 water) 7.4 7.5 7.7 7.7 7.6 7.9 EC (ds/m) 0.17 0.17 0.09 0.08 0.12 0.12 Exchangeable Na (cmol (+)/kg) 0.38 0.38 0.84 0.56 1.63 1.28 Exchangeable K (cmol (+)/kg) 0.53 0.67 0.50 0.86 0.24 0.22 Exchangeable Ca (cmol (+)/kg) 12.58 14.21 15.24 15.86 15.48 16.32 Exchangeable Mg (cmol (+)/kg) 8.04 9.24 7.15 7.98 3.08 4.62 CEC (cmol (+)/kg) 26.85 28.68 24.42 24.69 25.52 22.37 SOC (%) 1.35 1.314 1.34 1.21 1.32 1.14 Total N (%) 0.088 0.084 0.074 0.081 0.064 0.72 Available S (ppm) 6.45 6.4 5.8 4.1 Available P (ppm) 3.85 4.93 4.85 3.33 3.86 3.19 Zn (ppm) 0.31 0.24 0.28 0.32 0.23 0.27 B (ppm) 0.20 0.24 0.26 0.22 0.21 0.24 Physical properties Bulk density (g/cm3 ) 1.24 1.26 1.32 1.39 1.45 1.44 Particle size distribution (%) Sand 32 36 Silt 31 29 Clay 37 35 Soil texture Clay loam Clay loam
EC: electrical conductivity, CEC: cation exchange capacity, SOC: soil organic carbon.