The effect of soil supplementation with nitrogen and elemental sulphur on chlorophyll content and grain yield of maize (Zea mays L.)

Maize is a plant with a high productivity potential, which requires a much larger amount of nutrients during its growth and development compared to other cereal crops. Among the nutrients, nitrogen determines the size of the yield to the greatest extent. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of nitrogen and elemental sulphur fertilization on chlorophyll content and grain yield of maize. Chlorophyll was determined at two development stages: at the 5-6 leaf stage and at the ear blooming stage. The field experiment was conducted at the Department of Agronomy, Poznan University of Life Sciences, on the fields of the Department of Teaching and Experimental Station in Swadzim during 2005-2008 in a random block design (split-plot) in four replications. The obtained results indicate that the content of chlorophyll a and a + b at the 5-6 leaf stage was significantly influenced by nitrogen fertilization in three out of four experimental years, while for the chlorophyll expressed in soil and plant analysis development (SPAD) units in two out of four experimental years. The grain yield of maize was significantly determined by the level of applied nitrogen and elemental sulphur. Greater effectiveness of the use of nitrogen applied together with elemental sulphur on grain yield was demonstrated. The curves describing this relationship for combined application of N and S were higher in comparison with the curve depicting only the influence of nitrogen dose on grain yield.