The study looked at how different types of maize plants grow depending on how the soil is prepared and fertilizer is applied. They found that planting maize in traditionally plowed soil and using a certain type of maize plant (stay-green cultivar) and row fertilization helped increase maize yield. The stay-green plant did better than the fast maturing one, especially in dry years. Applying fertilizer directly to the rows also boosted grain yield. Planting maize directly into the soil reduced the number of ears and grains produced, but using the stay-green plant and row fertilization improved this.