Maize response to nitrogen fertilization in the Southwestern coast of Guatemala

Nitrogen is the most commonly applied nutrient for maize production in the agricultural area located between the town of Retalhuleu and the port of Champerico in Southwest Guatemala. Because of the lack of published research results that support current practices, we conducted a multi-location evaluation of the response of maize to N in farmers’ fields. Only four locations out of the 16 originally established provided reliable results because of the extreme drought that affected the area. Nitrogen was applied (50% at planting + 50% applied 35 days after planting) as urea at 0, 60, 120, and 180 kg/ha to maize ‘Dekalb 357’.

Average grain yields (14% moisture) were 1,515, 2,720, 3,200, and 2,990 kg/ha, for the 0, 60, 120, and 180 kg N/ha, respectively. The results show a significant yield response to the addition of 60 kg N/ha, and a flattening of the response at the higher fertilization rates.