Growth and Yield of Maize (Zea Mays L.) Under Various Mulching, Nitrogen Application and Soil Moisture Regimes PDF Download

Author: A. Rifin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
The study was conducted from February to September 1987 at the Central Experimental Station, UPLB (a) to evaluate the efficacy of rice straw and maize stover mulch in optimizing growth and yield of maize, (b) to determine the effect of nitrogen fertilization under simulated dry-land farming on maize production, and (c) to measure the residual effect of mulch and nitrogen using maize, mungbean and cowpea as the test crops. Nitrogen and mulch application, but not irrigation, significantly affect most of the parameters in this study. Nitrogen application increased plant height, crop growth rate, leaf area index, nutrient uptake, grain yield and dry matter production. It lowered leaf area ratio and barrenness of maize ears and induced early silking in maize. As aresult of luxuriant growth, nitrogen application helped reduce the maximum soil temperature and increased the water utilization by maize plants. Rice straw was a better mulching materials than maize stover. Mulch, particularly rice straw, improved IDM accumulation, plant heit, leaf developement, grain yield and nitrogen uptake. The effectiveness of rice mulch in conserving soil moisture and maintaining a low maximum soil temperature especially when soil moisture became low was observed. Residual of nitrogen application and mulching treatment were detected but the response depend on the test crop species used. The most clear-cut case was observed with mungbean, where residual mulching effect resulted in a two-fold increase in bean yield. The residual (...).