A field experiment was carried out over 2001-2003 at Agricultural Experimental Station at Swadzim, in the vicinity of Poznań. The aim was to examine the effect of fertilization method on the accumulation of dry matter and the content of nutrients at the initial stage of maize growth, and the grain yield and its structure. Two methods of fertilization were applied: broadcasting before sowing and sowing in rows (starter fertilization) simultaneously with grain sowing. The effectiveness of fertilization methods was studied applying P, NP and multiple fertilizers. Row fertilization increased the dry matter of above-ground parts of young plants of maize as well as increased their content of phosphorus and nitrogen and decreased the content of magnesium and calcium. A multi-component fertilizer, ammophoska, was the only fertilizer which, when applied in rows, did not stimulate the initial plant growth. The row application of fertilizers significantly increased the grain yield, as compared with broadcasting fertilization.

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