This thread is for both experienced and intending maize Farmers. It's going to be very educative and interactive.

Maize cultivation is one of the most profitable and easy farming one can lay hands on. But it's profitability can only become a reality if you know the right things to do.

I am not here to tell you that you can make millions from an acre of maize farm. I am here to rub minds and experience with other experienced maize Farmers and intending farmers can learn from our experiences before venturing into agriculture.

Maize is one of those crops that is widely consumed. It has a high marketability. Buyers seek maize Farmers and not the other way round.

What do I need before setting up a maize farm?
Firstly, you need an arable land. For beginners, you can rent an acre of farmland in a location that is easily reachable and manageble for you.

Mind you, it is very hard for one to get a virgin land for lease. Most farmlands put up for lease have actually been cultivated several times in the past. The fact that the land isn't very fertile doesn't mean your maize won't do well. All you need to do is to apply either organic(manure) or inorganic fertilzer to the land or better still apply both. Don't be deceived into assuming that your land is fertile enough for the cultivation of your crop. You can ascertain this by carrying out a soil test or better still, apply fertilizers.

Pls share your experiences as regards fertility of a farmland. How were you able to manage a not so fertile farmland

Wonderful! I will be back to state my experiences here, for now am off to harvesting dried maize in my farm to meet up replanting twice before december. I left them because of discouragement a month ago when i harvested the bigger sizes n sold off fresh. Almost 1 hectare in Igwuruta, Port harcourt.

This is nice. Thank you. I am a new farmer. Hoping to learn here.

ijemishkisic:
Wonderful! I will be back to state my experiences here, for now am off to harvesting dried maize in my farm to meet up replanting twice before december. I left them because of discouragement a month ago when i harvested the bigger sizes n sold off fresh. Almost 1 hectare in Igwuruta, Port harcourt.

The best way to make profit is to dry the maize. Fresh maize sales at the farm gate is not profitable. A 50 kg bag goes for 3,000-12,000 depending on the period.

Also, to make profit with dry maize 1. The spacing of the maize on the farm is important 2. Quality of seed used 3. The soil 4. If you have a very good soil you may not add fertiliser. 5. Storage facilities after harvest.

Dry maize are used by companies, pap makers, livestock farmers, etc. Therefore, the is market for same when sold at the right time.

Storage is a very big problem... hopefully we can discuss about it.

After reading series of posts on nairaland, doing several researches online, I decided I was going to plant maize and cassava.

I set out to lease about 2 acres of land. On physical evaluation of the land, some parts looked barren and the remaining portion looked fertile. I decided to apply manure to the barren portion of the farm.

Fast forward to after planting. I noticed that the manure fortified barren portion of my farm looks alive. The maize seedlings were looking so fresh and lovely but the maize seedlings on the supposed fertile portion were looking weak, some refused to germinate sef

Fast forward to harvesting, the cobs on the fortified barren portion looked so gigantic and the leaves so deep green. But for the supposedly fertile portion, some of the plants refused to grow pass human knee level and there was hardly any cob inside the fruit formed. Those that had cobs had very scanty seeds on the cob.

MY MISTAKE

I assumed that a particular portion of the farm is fertile just from physical observation of trees and healthy broad leaves on that particular portion.

Lesson 1: Never assume that a farmland is fertile just because there are trees on the farmland. It is safer to assume the land is barren than fertile

Inspectahdeck:


The best way to make profit is to dry the maize. Fresh maize sales at the farm gate is not profitable. A 50 kg bag goes for 3,000-12,000 depending on the period.

Also, to make profit with dry maize 1. The spacing of the maize on the farm is important 2. Quality of seed used 3. The soil 4. If you have a very good soil you may not add fertiliser. 5. Storage facilities after harvest.

Dry maize are used by companies, pap makers, livestock farmers, etc. Therefore, the is market for same when sold at the right time.

Storage is a very big problem... hopefully we can discuss about it.

From my observation sir, selling fresh maize is a less stressful way to make money from maize cultivation. It requires no extra cost of processing. Plus, you are very right, plant population is very crucial to making profit in maize farming. Once you get the population right, you will always smile to the bank after each sales whether fresh or dried


For beginners, I suggest you start with selling fresh maize, then you can proceed to processing it to dried maize once you are established

Following. I am a subsistence farmer of maize. I notice my maize is not robust, what should I do?

kripen:
Following. I am a subsistence farmer of maize. I notice my maize is not robust, what should I do?

If it has started forming tassels, nothing can be done about it anymore. For your next cultivation, you can add manure to the soil or fertilzer.

Next thing to do after Land procurement is clearing. This stage can be so frustrating especially if you intend doing manual clearing and lack labour.

The question here is which is a better option 'manual clearing and mechanized clearing'?

Pros and cons of each options should be stated

Your contributions is highly valuable and appreciated

MY EXPERIENCE

Because I knew nothing about farming and I wanted the experience and knowledge so badly, I decided to cultivate two farms separately. The first was purely mechanized farming and the second was purely manual farming

Manual farming: I engaged manual methods of cultivation for two acres of land. I cleared, burnt dried weeds, made heaps and planted. The clearing of the two acres of land took more than a month to clear. Labour refused to show up on the farm for several days. It took the intervention of a police officer before they eventually completed the clearing. It was so frustrating. I had a target as per when I wanted my maize to be harvested, but it was delayed by a month and some weeks interval. After clearing the farm, I had to wait for like 2 weeks for the weeds to dry up. It was after proper drying of the weeds, I had to employ another set of labour to burn the debris. Another wahala. . After so many futile attempts to get a reasonable labour to do the job, I decided to go with one of the staff that work for me at home. My dear nairalander, we did the burning ourselves. The lady did a very impressive job. I could do just a little since I have never done something of that nature in my life coupled with the fear of snakes . After the burning, I had to employ another set of labour to make heaps, this time around, I got northerners to do the job. Just two of them made the heaps within a week. After heap making, another set of labour came in to plant the seeds. While planting the seeds, I noticed one of the human planter pouring like 5-10 seeds in just one hole. Egbami!!
Expensive hybrid seeds o, he was wasting the seeds. I called his attention to the fact that I wanted just 2 seeds per hole. Children of God! By the time the seeds started germinating, there were like 10seedlings germinating at just one spot. I had to wipe my face to be sure of what I was seeing. Some holes had five maize seedlings, some were seven seedlings. We had to uproot the excesses and leave just 2-3 seedlings per hole

MECHANIZED FARMING: After the whole manual farming saga, I decided to test run a mechanized method on another acre of land. It took few days to prepare the land and plant my seeds. Everything happened with the speed of light. I couldn't believe my eyes, it was so cheap and stress less.

We started by doing a first ploughing on the land. Sprayed with herbicides, after some days, did a second ploughing and then planting of maize seeds and cassava stems

Advantages of manual method
1) the farmland ended up looking very neat
2) the weeds took a longer time to germinate again
3) it is recommended for intercropping

Disadvantages of manual method
1) it wastes time
2) it's energy consuming
3) it's expensive
4) achieving a maize population of 36000 stands per hectare or anything close is very impossible
5) Burning has more negative effects than positive effects on the soil

Advantages of Mechanized farming
1) Saves time
2) Saves energy
3) More efficient
5) Saves cost
6) High density maize cultivation is very achievable

Disadvantages
1) Weeds tend to grow back faster
2) Some people claims that it destroys the soil structure
3) Intercropping maize and cassava without heaps is to me a waste of space. The maize is planted on a row and the cassava follows on the next row. With Intercropping using mechanized farming, one might not be able to achieve a high density maize plantation

These are my observations though. Feel free to share your experiences, observations etc

Thanks for the enlightened lecture

I will drop my contribution soon

Very interesting thread. Yeah! OP is hitting main issues properly.

1. I agree with you about fresh maize. To me, it is even more profitable. Dried maize is a long process if one does not have the right equipment for it. So, why bother about it?

2. Your comment on tassel is very correct. You actually did a good job with your research.

3. About manual style, I just love how you spelt all out rightly. To even get 20,000 plant population per hectare is a real war. lol. Using maize planter is the way forward. There are even ones with fertilizer applicators too. With this one will get 1 seed per hole, and spaced accurately. 2 seeds per hole method is not as productive as a seed per hole.

Nice start bro. I am following this sir. Nice one here.

The guy who said dry maize is profitable: can he expatiate more, because that has not been my experience. Drying of maize is very stressful. Losses start from the farm to birds, then to human harvesters, and if you are not careful to further dry post-shelling and bag well with preservatives, you can be in for a nasty surprise.

Pistotita:
Very interesting thread. Yeah! OP is hitting main issues properly.

1. I agree with you about fresh maize. To me, it is even more profitable. Dried maize is a long process if one does not have the right equipment for it. So, why bother about it?

2. Your comment on tassel is very correct. You actually did a good job with your research.

3. About manual style, I just love how you spelt all out rightly. To even get 20,000 plant population per hectare is a real war. lol. Using maize planter is the way forward. There are even ones with fertilizer applicators too. With this one will get 1 seed per hole, and spaced accurately. 2 seeds per hole method is not as productive as a seed per hole.

Nice start bro. I am following this sir. Nice one here.

Thanks for looking into my write up sir. I appreciate your input. I am actually a lady

stagger:
The guy who said dry maize is profitable: can he expatiate more, because that has not been my experience. Drying of maize is very stressful. Losses start from the farm to birds, then to human harvesters, and if you are not careful to further dry post-shelling and bag well with preservatives, you can be in for a nasty surprise.

Thanks for your input sir

stagger:
The guy who said dry maize is profitable: can he expatiate more, because that has not been my experience. Drying of maize is very stressful. Losses start from the farm to birds, then to human harvesters, and if you are not careful to further dry post-shelling and bag well with preservatives, you can be in for a nasty surprise.

You are right about the post shelling and preservation if the farmer is a novice on that.

Dry maize is stressful and profitable from my experience, far profitable than fresh maize. Once the spacing is right, usage of hybrid seeds and Cubs are good the outcome will be fantastic.

In farming I understand one has to leave room for pest. Antelopes invaded my farm last week and I addressed the issue and also took meat home

Hybrid seed matures after 75 days of planting, harvesting at the right time will reduce waste. Picture of my last harvest below I got 10 of that truck and sold at 90 naira/kg. I made millions something I will never get selling fresh.

Maize farmers in the north are making a killing selling dry maize.

I wish I can show a video of my present 20 hectares of maize

Inspectahdeck:


You are right about the post shelling and preservation if the farmer is a novice on that.

Dry maize is stressful and profitable from my experience, far profitable than fresh maize. Once the spacing is right, usage of hybrid seeds and Cubs are good the outcome will be fantastic.

In farming I understand one has to leave room for pest. Antelopes invaded my farm last week and I addressed the issue and also took meat home

Hybrid seed matures after 75 days of planting, harvesting at the right time will reduce waste. Picture of my last harvest below I got 10 of that truck and sold at 90 naira/kg. I made millions something I will never get selling fresh.

Maize farmers in the north are making a killing selling dry maize.

I wish I can show a video of my present 20 hectares of maize

Comparison analysis is the way to do it well. How many tons do you get per hectare sir?

@Ifedola28, let us wait for his answer madam, and we know how to analyse it better. I always rely on figures, and not speculation. Perhaps, my brother may even want to try fresh maize if he finds good market for it. People do not understand the hidden treasure in fresh maize. The first impulse is sales per ton of dried ones.

Today is my birthday and coincidentally I have access to 5 hectares of land very close to water sources that I want to plant maize and here I am stumbling onto this very informative thread of a crop I eagerly want to plant. Thank you OP and all contributors so far.

I intend to consume the knowledge that will flow from this thread.

@ifedola28
Pls what is your plant spacing for the 20 hectares you planted?

What is the name of the hybrid seed planted and it's expected yield per hectare.

Your application of pesticides is it proactive or reactive?

Did you spray herbicides before planting or after planting but before germination and why?

Thanks.

Pistotita:


Comparison analysis is the way to do it well. How many tons do you get per hectare sir?

@Ifedola28, let us wait for his answer madam, and we know how to analyse it better. I always rely on figures, and not speculation. Perhaps, my brother may even want to try fresh maize if he finds good market for it. People do not understand the hidden treasure in fresh maize. The first impulse is sales per ton of dried ones.

It is very difficult sharing experience in a discus. I now understand why some experience farmers advise to keep quiet. I wrote my experience above and also shared pictures and you assume it is speculation.

Anyways, I get between 2.5-3.5 tons per hectare. It varies due to spacing as I use manual planting (labour) but in as much I supervise the planting. A picture below of my present manual maize farm spacing.

Finally, I will be mindful of any tone of question and might not answer if I find it offensive. Thanks.

numen:
Today is my birthday and coincidentally I have access to 5 hectares of land very close to water sources that I want to plant maize and here I am stumbling onto this very informative thread of a crop I eagerly want to plant. Thank you OP and all contributors so far.

I intend to consume the knowledge that will flow from this thread.

@ifedola28
Pls what is your plant spacing for the 20 hectares you planted?

What is the name of the hybrid seed planted and it's expected yield per hectare.

Your application of pesticides is it proactive or reactive?

Did you spray herbicides before planting or after planting but before germination and why?

Thanks.

I shared a picture of the spacing below. I use labour but monitor closely. I am very sure it is not more than 1 -1.5mx2m

I use premier seed oba super 1. You can check the expected yield per hectare. From experience this hybrid resist army worm attack. This is an on the field experience. I used solo yellow maize last year dry season to complete the remaining portion of my farm. The solo was attack and I had to spray pesticides but the hybrid was also attacked but when rain started the army worm disappeared. Also, the hybrid is drought resistant.

I prepare my land well then plant. After a month or so I weed manually and once the maize is up they cover the weed and limit its growth. Then I apply selective herbicide a month to harvest. I always clear any Bush at least 3-4m away from my farm to avoid antelopes etc from invading. At the other side I constructed ropes so I get to take Bush meat home.

It is difficult to spray herbicide when the maize is young, it may affect it. That is way I wait for it to grow well. Also, very important maize and broad leaves weed are the same. Using herbicide that kills the formal may also kill the latter.

You can spray herbicide glyphosate before planting. It was reviewed that the danger is minimal. As seen in the picture below.

I think your question was directed at the op but I think I shared my experience.

Inspectahdeck:


I shared a picture of the spacing below. I use labour but monitor closely. I am very sure it is not more than 1 -1.5mx2m

I use premier seed oba super 1. You can check the expected yield per hectare. From experience this hybrid resist army worm attack. This is an on the field experience. I used solo yellow maize last year dry season to complete the remaining portion of my farm. The solo was attack and I had to spray pesticides but the hybrid was also attacked but when rain started the army worm disappeared. Also, the hybrid is drought resistant.

I prepare my land well then plant. After a month or so I weed manually and once the maize is up they cover the weed and limit its growth. Then I apply selective herbicide a month to harvest. I always clear any Bush at least 3-4m away from my farm to avoid antelopes etc from invading. At the other side I constructed ropes so I get to take Bush meat home.

It is difficult to spray herbicide when the maize is young, it may affect it. That is way I wait for it to grow well. Also, very important maize and broad leaves weed are the same. Using herbicide that kills the formal may also kill the latter.

You can spray herbicide glyphosate before planting. It was reviewed that the danger is minimal. As seen in the picture below.

I think your question was directed at the op but I think I shared my experience.

Thanks for your input sir, as I stated earlier, opinions and experiences are welcomed. I appreciate your contribution sir and I am very sure the info you have provided will go a long way. This is like a debate, debate about experiences, in a debate, no one is right and no one is wrong. Our opinions varies. One thing I always do when I am faced with two options and don't know which is better is to try the two and compare


For those in support of fresh maize having a higher profitability than dried maize, you can try selling dried maize and compare

For those in support of dried maize having a higher profitability than fresh maize, you can also give fresh maize a chance and then compare

In life, one must all be willing to learn and improve. One can't afford to stick to just one idea or methodology if one must succeed

As regards premier hybrid seeds, I have a lot to say about it. Please stay tuned and your contributions are highly appreciated

numen:
Today is my birthday and coincidentally I have access to 5 hectares of land very close to water sources that I want to plant maize and here I am stumbling onto this very informative thread of a crop I eagerly want to plant. Thank you OP and all contributors so far.

I intend to consume the knowledge that will flow from this thread.

@ifedola28
Pls what is your plant spacing for the 20 hectares you planted?

What is the name of the hybrid seed planted and it's expected yield per hectare.

Your application of pesticides is it proactive or reactive?

Did you spray herbicides before planting or after planting but before germination and why?

Thanks.

Happy birthday sir, you just stumbled upon the right thread for maize

Inspectahdeck:


It is very difficult sharing experience in a discus. I now understand why some experience farmers advise to keep quiet. I wrote my experience above and also shared pictures and you assume it is speculation.

Anyways, I get between 2.5-3.5 tons per hectare. It varies due to spacing as I use manual planting (labour) but in as much I supervise the planting. A picture below of my present manual maize farm spacing.

Finally, I will be mindful of any tone of question and might not answer if I find it offensive. Thanks.

Looks like you are an emotional person. Well, my apologies. My brother/sister, it is all about improvement. Why will I want to rubbish your points and opinions? Of course, I don't do that.

You are not alone in experiencing people rubbing it (you rendering help and voicing out your opinions) at ones face. I get it like minimum of once a month. But this past week has been crazy. lol. From asking me to prove my case to demanding me that I must create time (not 1 person)...bla bla bla. So, if you feel offended, please forgive me.

Usually, I don't jump into threads, but when I see a well organised, brilliant, and intelligent person, I cannot resist rubbing minds with the fellow. But you gat some toughness in you. Really, you do, cos you still dished out the info cos you know what you are saying. However, I have proved my cases at times, dropped it, and accepted to look into my opponents'. And I have returned on some occasions to give feedback that my opponents' idea seems to outweigh mine.

If I believe you at your words without analysis, how can we improve? Don't get me wrong. Just like you, I feel I have no one to question my style since I am not feeding under anyone. But really, I check myself many times also.

Once again, do not feel too bad about the first person's comment, and mine. Not meant to attack you. Infact, you should ask your opponents what they saw, and why they chose the opposite of your believe. That's real discussion. You then may want to ask about their methodologies. I do it many times. From this, I might spot a new way of doing it better. May even not necessarily be that you will do fresh maize, but you might get tricks to improve dried maize production.

Lastly, anyone who holds information firmly cannot receive. This has been a secret that has been shooting me to higher places. As you release, much more come your way. Even people who hold back will sneak to your door and share privately. It pays more to share than to hold on to. Trust me. And the evidence is in social media, digital marketers have realised that free flow and sharing of information is real marketing. And when you share, be ready to receive punches on your face, it is you who will find a strategy of using everything (the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly) to your advantage.


Now, I hope you don't mind the comments of mine about your yield. I think it is low. See, a fresh maize farmer knows that grains on his cobs must be filled to get good deal. So, he does everything possible not to have scanty grains on the cobs. But for the farmer who sells dried, he cares about the total grains. Also, the more the cobs and grains, the more the yield. The standard population for maize is around 53,000 to 60,000 per ha. And pop corn variety is even higher. When you get into sweet corn farming, then, you understand me well. Just watch vegetables farmers who dive into sweet corn production. They are master if fresh maize production. Hope you get me. I think you should aim at minimum of 7 tons per hectare, and 10 to 13 tons is possible. As long as the seed has the potential, it can do it. The issue is that one must remove all hindrances and hurdles to make it possible. You may need to try another variety which might give more yield. I am not criticizing you. But if you are contented with 3 tons, then, who am I to convince or confuse you? My apologies if you find my comments offenssive. But I am sure OP gat it. And I am sure she will get to the secrets of getting high populstion. But she has even already shared it. lol.

It is all well. Have a nice day bro/sister.

Thank you Sir. Yes the question was directed at the OP, but I appreciate your prompt response and your experienced contribution.

@bolded is a very good experience worth passing on to others.

Thank you.

Inspectahdeck:


I shared a picture of the spacing below. I use labour but monitor closely. I am very sure it is not more than 1 -1.5mx2m

I use premier seed oba super 1. You can check the expected yield per hectare. From experience this hybrid resist army worm attack. This is an on the field experience. I used solo yellow maize last year dry season to complete the remaining portion of my farm. The solo was attack and I had to spray pesticides but the hybrid was also attacked but when rain started the army worm disappeared. Also, the hybrid is drought resistant.

I prepare my land well then plant. After a month or so I weed manually and once the maize is up they cover the weed and limit its growth. Then I apply selective herbicide a month to harvest. I always clear any Bush at least 3-4m away from my farm to avoid antelopes etc from invading. At the other side I constructed ropes so I get to take Bush meat home.

It is difficult to spray herbicide when the maize is young, it may affect it. That is way I wait for it to grow well. Also, very important maize and broad leaves weed are the same. Using herbicide that kills the formal may also kill the latter.

You can spray herbicide glyphosate before planting. It was reviewed that the danger is minimal. As seen in the picture below.

I think your question was directed at the op but I think I shared my experience.

Thank you Ma.

We're waiting for your opinion as regards Premier seed and the one you plant.

Welldone!

ifedola28:



Happy birthday sir, you just stumbled upon the right thread for maize

Sir I know you from https://www.nairaland.com/5178983/40-cucumbers-per-plant-12kg/ and i know you dish out knowledge freely not to criticize but to improve others and yourself.

I can also understand @inspectahdeck point of view and I truly believe the wealth of experience you all will bring to this thread will be phenomenal and serve as a good and realistic guide for current and future maize farmers.

Thank you @Inspectahdeck @Pistotita @ifedola28

Pistotita:


Looks like you are an emotional person. Well, my apologies. My brother/sister, it is all about improvement. Why will I want to rubbish your points and opinions? Of course, I don't do that.

You are not alone in experiencing people rubbing it (you rendering help and voicing out your opinions) at ones face. I get it like minimum of once a month. But this past week has been crazy. lol. From asking me to prove my case to demanding me that I must create time (not 1 person)...bla bla bla. So, if you feel offended, please forgive me.

Usually, I don't jump into threads, but when I see a well organised, brilliant, and intelligent person, I cannot resist rubbing minds with the fellow. But you gat some toughness in you. Really, you do, cos you still dished out the info cos you know what you are saying. However, I have proved my cases at times, dropped it, and accepted to look into my opponents'. And I have returned on some occasions to give feedback that my opponents' idea seems to outweigh mine.

If I believe you at your words without analysis, how can we improve? Don't get me wrong. Just like you, I feel I have no one to question my style since I am not feeding under anyone. But really, I check myself many times also.

Once again, do not feel too bad about the first person's comment, and mine. Not meant to attack you. Infact, you should ask your opponents what they saw, and why they chose the opposite of your believe. That's real discussion. You then may want to ask about their methodologies. I do it many times. From this, I might spot a new way of doing it better. May even not necessarily be that you will do fresh maize, but you might get tricks to improve dried maize production.

Lastly, anyone who holds information firmly cannot receive. This has been a secret that has been shooting me to higher places. As you release, much more come your way. Even people who hold back will sneak to your door and share privately. It pays more to share than to hold on to. Trust me. And the evidence is in social media, digital marketers have realised that free flow and sharing of information is real marketing. And when you share, be ready to receive punches on your face, it is you who will find a strategy of using everything (the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly) to your advantage.


Now, I hope you don't mind the comments of mine about your yield. I think it is low. See, a fresh maize farmer knows that grains on his cobs must be filled to get good deal. So, he does everything possible not to have scanty grains on the cobs. But for the farmer who sells dried, he cares about the total grains. Also, the more the cobs and grains, the more the yield. The standard population for maize is around 53,000 to 60,000 per ha. And pop corn variety is even higher. When you get into sweet corn farming, then, you understand me well. Just watch vegetables farmers who dive into sweet corn production. They are master if fresh maize production. Hope you get me. I think you should aim at minimum of 7 tons per hectare, and 10 to 13 tons is possible. As long as the seed has the potential, it can do it. The issue is that one must remove all hindrances and hurdles to make it possible. You may need to try another variety which might give more yield. I am not criticizing you. But if you are contented with 3 tons, then, who am I to convince or confuse you? My apologies if you find my comments offenssive. But I am sure OP gat it. And I am sure she will get to the secrets of getting high populstion. But she has even already shared it. lol.

It is all well. Have a nice day bro/sister.