Water and Nitrogen Productivity of Maize under Semiarid Environments. Issue 2 (1st March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hammad, Hafiz Mohkum; Ahmad, Ashfaq; Abbas, Farhat; Farhad, Wajid; Cordoba, Bernardo Chaves; Hoogenboom, Gerrit
• Is Part Of: Crop science. Volume 55:Issue 2(2015)
• Page Start: 877
• Page End: 888
• Publication Date: 2015-03-01
• Subjects: Crop science -- Periodicals; Cultures -- Périodiques; Cultures de plein champ -- Périodiques; Crop science; Nutzpflanzen; Zeitschrift; Pflanzenbau; Periodicals; 633
• DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2013.05.0291
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0011-183X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Irrigated agriculture is a facing shortage of water and N in semiarid environments where these inputs are limiting factors for crop production. Experiments were conducted to optimize the water and N requirements for maize ( Zea mays L.) under semiarid environmental conditions. Crop physiological and agronomics characteristics were evaluated for three irrigation regimes and five N fertilizer levels during 2009 and 2010. The experiments were conducted in a split‐plot design by triplicating water regimes in the main plots and N levels in the subplots. Total dry matter production and crop growth rate increased with an increase in the N application rate up to 300 kg ha −1 for all irrigation regimes. In contrast, maximum grain yield was achieved with application of 250 kg N ha −1 . Polynomial analysis (third order) showed that 275 kg N ha −1 was optimum for grain yield at normal irrigation. Higher amounts of irrigation and N significantly increased water use efficiency (WUE). Since optimal N rates for maximum grain yield was 250 kg ha −1 with 525 mm irrigation water ha −1 during both growing seasons, this may be considered in formulating good agricultural practices for the soil and weather conditions resembling those of this study.