Assessment of Planting Method and Deficit Irrigation Impacts on Physio-Morphology, Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Maize (Zea mays L.) on Vertisols of Semi-Arid Tropics

Hanamant M Halli; Sanganabasappa Angadi; Aravind Kumar; Prabhu Govindasamy; Raghavendra Madar; David Chella Baskar V; Hosam O Elansary; Nissren Tamam; Ashraf M M Abdelbacki; Shaimaa A M Abdelmohsen

doi:10.3390/plants10061094

Assessment of Planting Method and Deficit Irrigation Impacts on Physio-Morphology, Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Maize (Zea mays L.) on Vertisols of Semi-Arid Tropics

Plants (Basel). 2021 May 29;10(6):1094. doi: 10.3390/plants10061094.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Seed Technology, ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, UP, India.
² Department of Agronomy, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 580 005, KA, India.
³ Division of Crop Production, ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, UP, India.
⁴ Division of Crop Production, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore 452 001, MP, India.
⁵ Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University, Jhansi 284 003, UP, India.
⁶ Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Floriculture, Ornamental Horticulture, and Garden Design Department, Faculty of Agriculture (El-Shatby), Alexandria University, Alexandria 21545, Egypt.
⁸ Department of Geography, Environmental Management, and Energy Studies, APK Campus, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa.
⁹ Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 84428, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Plant Pathology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt.
¹¹ Applied Studies and Community Service College, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt.

Abstract

Agriculture in a water-limited environment is critically important for today and for the future. This research evaluates the impact of deficit irrigation in different planting methods on the physio-morphological traits, grain yield and WUE of maize (Zea mays L.). The experiment was carried out in 2015 and 2016, consisting of three planting methods (i.e., BBF, SNF, and DWF) and four irrigation levels (i.e., I_10D: irrigation once in ten days, I₄₀: irrigation at 40% DASM, I₅₀: irrigation at 50% DASM, and I₆₀: irrigation at 60% DASM). The results reveal that varying degrees of water stress due to planting methods and irrigation levels greatly influenced the maize physio-morphological traits and yield attributes. The combined effect of DWF + I₅₀ benefited the maize in terms of higher leaf area, RWC, SPAD values, CGR, and LAD, followed by the SNF method at 60 DAS. As a result, DWF + I₅₀ and SNF + I₅₀ had higher 100 grain weight (30.5 to 31.8 g), cob weight (181.4 to 189.6 g cob^-1) and grain yield (35.3% to 36.4%) compared to other treatments. However, the reduction in the number of irrigations (24.0%) under SNF + I₅₀ resulted in a 34% water saving. Thus, under a water-limited situation in semi-arid tropics, the practice of the SNF method + I₅₀ could be an alternative way to explore the physio-morphological benefits in maize.

Keywords: deficit irrigation; maize; planting methods; proline; total soluble solids.

Grants and funding

0/Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University