Maize (Zea mays L.) Productivity and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Response to Nitrogen Application Levels and Time

E M S Gheith; Ola Z El-Badry; Sobhi F Lamlom; Hayssam M Ali; Manzer H Siddiqui; Rehab Y Ghareeb; Mohamed H El-Sheikh; Jebril Jebril; Nader R Abdelsalam; Essam E Kandil

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.941343

Maize (Zea mays L.) Productivity and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Response to Nitrogen Application Levels and Time

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Jul 1:13:941343. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.941343. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
² Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agriculture Saba Basha, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
³ Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Plant Protection and Biomolecular Diagnosis Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, The City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, Alexandria, Egypt.
⁵ Plant Production Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States.
⁷ Agricultural Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture Saba Basha, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

Abstract

Productivity of maize (Zea mays L.) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) as affected by nitrogen application levels and timing were studied. The experimental design was a three-replication randomized complete block design (RCBD). The first factor was nitrogen levels (122, 240, 288 and 336 kg N/ha) and the second factor was nitrogen timing (50% of N at sowing and 50% of N before the first irrigation; T₁, 50% of N at sowing and 50% of N before the second irrigation; T₂ and 50% of N before the first irrigation and 50% of N before the second irrigation; T₃). Results indicated that plant height, ear length, kernel weight, number of grains/rows, number of grains/ear and grain yields all increased significantly as nitrogen levels increased and the level of 336 kg N/ha significantly exhibiting the highest values in both seasons. In terms of nitrogen application time, maize yield parameters such as plant height, ear length, kernel weight/ear, number of grains/rows, number of grains/ear and grain yield were significantly affected by nitrogen timing, with the highest values obtained at T3 while the lowest values obtained at T1 in both seasons. The interaction had a significant impact on plant height and grain yield/ha, with the tallest plants, the highest yields and its components observed at 336 kg N/ha, with 50% of N applied during the first irrigation and 50% of N applied during the second. Furthermore, under the study conditions, NUE decreased dramatically as nitrogen levels increased and increased significantly as nitrogen application time changed.

Keywords: maize; nitrogen use efficiency; rates; splitting; timing; yield components.