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/cm^3)	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.