A Study on the Effect of Different Fertilizer Application on Yield of Some Selected Crops: Hierarchical Three-Stage Nested Design Approach

Due to the growing human population, there is a high demand for food and other agricultural products. As a result of this demand, soil nutrients are depleted after every planting season, hence the need for fertilizer, which plays a crucial role in providing crops with the necessary nutrients to replenish the soil. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique of hierarchical three-stage nested design was applied to data collated on the yield of some selected crops from three different farms with two different fertilizer applications and the third farm without fertilizer application to determine the fertilizer type that gives the best yield. The study was carried out at the research farm of the Agronomy department of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, from May 2018 to August, during the 2018 farming season. Analysis of variance showed that there is a significant effect of blocks on crop yield and there are significant differences between the mean yield of varieties from the same crops of different varieties from the various farm areas. Thus, organic based fertilizer should be encouraged as it is a natural fertilizer that is beneficial to crop production, containing organic matter that improve soil structure and preserve essential nutrients that crops need in order to grow, as well as restore soil fertility and balancing the PH (potential of hydrogen) value of the soil. The software for analysis was Mini-tab