This study was carried out to determine the effect of different levels of urea fertilizer on the growth parameters of Mulato II. This was done at the teaching and research farm of Modibbo Adama University, Yola. A completely randomized design was used, with four treatments, replicated four times and each plot size was 6m2. The treatments were; T1 (50kg/ha), T2 (100kg/ha), T3 (150kg/ha) and T4 (0kg/ha). The fertilizer was applied at week eight and 10 after planting. The growth parameters were found to vary, with the 150kg/ha at various measuring weeks exhibiting the highest mean plant height of 181.20, 187.80 and 198.40cm (9, 11 and 13 WAP respectively). The leaf length followed the trend of the plant height across the treatments and in all harvesting stage. The control produced Mulato II with the shortest leaves and T3 produced grasses with the longest leaves. The Leaf number increased with increase in the rate of urea fertilizer. At 9 WAP, 6.80, 6.75, 6.95 and 6.40 number of leaves for T1 to T4 respectively were recorded. Overall, there were no significant differences (p<0.05) between the T1 and T2 for number of leaves. There were significant differences (P>0.05) in the yield of fresh Mulato II grass at different harvesting stages across the treatments. In all harvest stages, T3 (fertilizer rate at 150 kg/ha) produced the highest fresh forage (11.65, 13.29 and 17.67 tons/ha at 9, 11 and 13 WAP respectively). The control gave the lowest forage yield in all the harvesting stages. It was concluded that application of 150kg/ha urea fertilizer and harvest after 13 weeks of planting is recommended as this can yield up to 17.67 ton/ha of Mulato II forage.
| Published in | American Journal of Plant Biology (Volume 11, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12 |
| Page(s) | 8-12 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Brachiaria, Urea, Fertilizer, Growth, Performance
| [1] | Adebayo, A. A., Tukur, A. L., and Zemba, A. A. (2020). Adamawa State in maps. Published by parachute publishers, Yola Nigeria. |
| [2] | Campos, F. P., Sarmento, P., Nussio, L. G., Lugão, S. M. B., Lima, C. G. and Daniel, J. L. P. (2013). Fibre monosaccharides and digestibility of Milenio grass under nitrogen fertilization. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 183, 17–21. |
| [3] | da Costa, M. G., da Gama-Rodrigues, A. C., Zaia, F. C. and da Gama-Rodrigues, E. F. (2014). Leguminous trees to recovery of degraded pastures in northern Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Scientia Forestalis Piracicaba, 42(101), 101-112. |
| [4] | Gadisa, B., Dinkale, T. and Debela, M. (2021). Evaluation of Bracharia grass genotypes at Mechara research station, West Hararghe Zone, Eastern Oromia, Ethiopia. Journal of Veterinary & Marine Sciences, 3(2), 176-182. |
| [5] | Gonzalez, E., Kalki, S., Bhakat, C. and Srinivasan, S. (2018). Impact of fertilizer management on forage yield in Brachiaria grass. Journal of Plant Physiology, 28(4), 150-165. |
| [6] | Hunegnaw, B., Mekuriaw, Y., Asmare, B. and Mekuriaw, S. (2021). Effects of fertilizer and soil type on morphological characteristics and dry matter yield of Brachiaria grass cultivars in Northwestern Ethiopia. Proceedings of the 13th Annual Regional Conference on Completed Livestock Research Activities, Vol 2, 1-21. |
| [7] | Jank, L., Valle, C. B. and Resende, R. M. S. (2014). Breeding tropical forages. Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology, 11(1), 45-52. |
| [8] | Klapwijk, C. J., Bucagu, C., van Wijk, M. T., Udo, H. M. J., Vanlauwe, B., Munyanziza, E., Giller, K. E. (2014) The “One Cow Per Poor Family” Programme: Current and Potential Fodder Availability within Smallholder Farming Systems in Southwest Rwanda. Agricultural Systems, 131, 11-22. |
| [9] | Lopez, R., Rodríguez-Pérez, J. E., Tovar-Sánchez, E., and García-Cañedo, P. (2019). Effects of fertilizer application rates on forage production in Brachiaria grass. Journal of Agronomy, 35(2), 78-89. |
| [10] | Maia, G. A., Costa, K. A. d., Severiano, E. d., Epifanio, P. S., Neto, J. F., Ribeiro, M. G., Fernandes, P. B., Silva J. F. G. and Gonçalves, W. G. (2014). Yield and chemical composition of Brachiaria forage grasses in the offseason after corn harvest. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2014, 5, 933-941. |
| [11] | Nafatul, U., Meita, P. D., Bambang, S., Cuk, T. N, Nilo, S., Genki, I. and Ryo, A. (2015). Growth and productivity of Brachiaria brizantha CV MG 5 under the effect of different dose of NPK fertilization. The 6th International Seminar on Tropical Animal Production Integrated Approach in Developing Sustainable Tropical Animal Production October 20-22, 2015, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. |
| [12] | Oliveira, I. P., Rodríguez-Pérez, J. E., Tovar-Sánchez, E. and García-Cañedo, P. (2020). Temporal dynamics of leaf growth in Brachiaria grass under different fertilizer regimes. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 35(4), 567-580. |
| [13] | Oliveira, J. A. M., Jank, L., and Valle, C. (2017). Effects of nitrogen fertilization on leaf elongation rates and biomass accumulation in Brachiaria grass. Journal of Agronomy, 24(2), 89-102. |
| [14] | Resende, W. D., Udo, E. J., Usoroh, N. J., Ayoode, K. A., Adepefu, J. A., Chude, V. O. and Udebe, C. I. (2019). Fertilizer use and management practices for crops in Nigeria, Series No. 2 Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development. 163 pp. |
| [15] | SAS (Statistical Analysis System). (2002). SAS/STAT User's Guide Version 9.00. SAS Institute Incorporated, Cary, North Carolina, USA. 1050 pp. |
| [16] | Silva, F. F., Pires, A. J. V., and Silva, C. J. (2019). Impact of nitrogen fertilization on leaf morphology and growth in Brachiaria grass. Journal of Agronomy, 26(2), 89-102. |
| [17] | Silva., F. F., Pires, A. J. V. and Vilela, L. (2010). Effects of phosphorus and potassium fertilization on leaf morphology and nutrient uptake in Urochloa grass species. Agriculture and Environment, 39(3), 210-225. |
| [18] | Martínez, J. R., & García, L. F. (2016). Effects of fertilizer rate and harvest stage on forage yield and growth dynamics of tropical grasses. Tropical Grasslands–Forrajes Tropicales, 4(2), 85–94. |
| [19] | Lemaire, G., Franzluebbers, A., Carvalho, P. C. F., & Dedieu, B. (2014). Integrated crop–livestock systems: Strategies to achieve synergy between agricultural production and environmental quality. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 190, 4–8. |
| [20] | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2018). Climate change and the livestock sector – impacts, adaptation and mitigation. FAO Animal Production and Health Guidelines No. 20. |
APA Style
Abubakar, A., Adamu, G. Z., John, H. A., Kirfi, Y. A. (2026). Effect of Different Levels of Urea Fertilizer Application on the Growth Parameters of Brachiaria Hybrid (Mulato II). American Journal of Plant Biology, 11(1), 8-12. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12
ACS Style
Abubakar, A.; Adamu, G. Z.; John, H. A.; Kirfi, Y. A. Effect of Different Levels of Urea Fertilizer Application on the Growth Parameters of Brachiaria Hybrid (Mulato II). Am. J. Plant Biol. 2026, 11(1), 8-12. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12,
author = {Ahmed Abubakar and Gworgwor Zakariya Adamu and Hyelda Abbakura John and Yakubu Ahmed Kirfi},
title = {Effect of Different Levels of Urea Fertilizer Application on the Growth Parameters of Brachiaria Hybrid (Mulato II)},
journal = {American Journal of Plant Biology},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {8-12},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpb.20261101.12},
abstract = {This study was carried out to determine the effect of different levels of urea fertilizer on the growth parameters of Mulato II. This was done at the teaching and research farm of Modibbo Adama University, Yola. A completely randomized design was used, with four treatments, replicated four times and each plot size was 6m2. The treatments were; T1 (50kg/ha), T2 (100kg/ha), T3 (150kg/ha) and T4 (0kg/ha). The fertilizer was applied at week eight and 10 after planting. The growth parameters were found to vary, with the 150kg/ha at various measuring weeks exhibiting the highest mean plant height of 181.20, 187.80 and 198.40cm (9, 11 and 13 WAP respectively). The leaf length followed the trend of the plant height across the treatments and in all harvesting stage. The control produced Mulato II with the shortest leaves and T3 produced grasses with the longest leaves. The Leaf number increased with increase in the rate of urea fertilizer. At 9 WAP, 6.80, 6.75, 6.95 and 6.40 number of leaves for T1 to T4 respectively were recorded. Overall, there were no significant differences (p1 and T2 for number of leaves. There were significant differences (P>0.05) in the yield of fresh Mulato II grass at different harvesting stages across the treatments. In all harvest stages, T3 (fertilizer rate at 150 kg/ha) produced the highest fresh forage (11.65, 13.29 and 17.67 tons/ha at 9, 11 and 13 WAP respectively). The control gave the lowest forage yield in all the harvesting stages. It was concluded that application of 150kg/ha urea fertilizer and harvest after 13 weeks of planting is recommended as this can yield up to 17.67 ton/ha of Mulato II forage.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Effect of Different Levels of Urea Fertilizer Application on the Growth Parameters of Brachiaria Hybrid (Mulato II) AU - Ahmed Abubakar AU - Gworgwor Zakariya Adamu AU - Hyelda Abbakura John AU - Yakubu Ahmed Kirfi Y1 - 2026/01/31 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12 T2 - American Journal of Plant Biology JF - American Journal of Plant Biology JO - American Journal of Plant Biology SP - 8 EP - 12 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2578-8337 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpb.20261101.12 AB - This study was carried out to determine the effect of different levels of urea fertilizer on the growth parameters of Mulato II. This was done at the teaching and research farm of Modibbo Adama University, Yola. A completely randomized design was used, with four treatments, replicated four times and each plot size was 6m2. The treatments were; T1 (50kg/ha), T2 (100kg/ha), T3 (150kg/ha) and T4 (0kg/ha). The fertilizer was applied at week eight and 10 after planting. The growth parameters were found to vary, with the 150kg/ha at various measuring weeks exhibiting the highest mean plant height of 181.20, 187.80 and 198.40cm (9, 11 and 13 WAP respectively). The leaf length followed the trend of the plant height across the treatments and in all harvesting stage. The control produced Mulato II with the shortest leaves and T3 produced grasses with the longest leaves. The Leaf number increased with increase in the rate of urea fertilizer. At 9 WAP, 6.80, 6.75, 6.95 and 6.40 number of leaves for T1 to T4 respectively were recorded. Overall, there were no significant differences (p1 and T2 for number of leaves. There were significant differences (P>0.05) in the yield of fresh Mulato II grass at different harvesting stages across the treatments. In all harvest stages, T3 (fertilizer rate at 150 kg/ha) produced the highest fresh forage (11.65, 13.29 and 17.67 tons/ha at 9, 11 and 13 WAP respectively). The control gave the lowest forage yield in all the harvesting stages. It was concluded that application of 150kg/ha urea fertilizer and harvest after 13 weeks of planting is recommended as this can yield up to 17.67 ton/ha of Mulato II forage. VL - 11 IS - 1 ER -
Animal Quarantine Department, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, Abuja, Nigeria
Information