Effect of Nitrogen and Plant Density on the Performance of Pwani Hybrid Maize

New maize hybrids require agronomic recommendations, especially when currently available recommendations are for a low yield potential, open pollinated cultivar. A study was conducted to investigate the performance of a new maize cultivar, Pwani Hybrid I (PHI) at different nitrogen levels and plant densities. The number of ears per plant, ear length and ear girth were reduced by increasing plant density while nitrogen application increased them. In all three years of the study, application of at least 30 kg N ha ^-1 increased maize grain yield. Statistical and economic analysis show that PHI gave highest grain yield at a density of 67,000 plants ha ^-1 and at 60 kg N ha ^-1 , the currently recommended rate of nitrogen application.