WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF MAIZE VARIETIES IN ACID SAND SOIL | Journal of Global Agriculture and Eco..

Introduction: One of the primary constraints to rainfed crop productivity, especially on sandy soils, is efficient water usage. Water usage efficiency (WUE) measurement is thus a good tool for evaluating biomass production in relation to grain yield. As a result, evapo-transpiration can be quantified in a soil water balance study in order to increase crop WUE. The goal of this study is to determine the amount of soil water utility provided by the maize crop.

Methods: Under rainfed conditions, two local maize varieties (Mkprak and Uweb) and one enhanced variety (FARZ-7) were planted. The experiment was conducted in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Each treatment had four micro-lysimeters inserted at random. The evapotranspiration at different phases of crop growth was determined by weighing the micro-lysimeters two days after rainfall.

Results: For the types Mkprak, Uweb, and FARZ-7, average WUE was 0.27 g mm-1 (0.01), 0.26 g mm-1 (0.00), and 0.27 g mm-1 (0.01), respectively, with non-significant differences in grain production. However, Uweb 0.15 g mm-1 (0.02) had the highest WUE for shoot biomass, followed by Mkprak 0.14 g mm-1 (0.01), and variety FARZ-7 0.13 g mm-1 (0.01).

Conclusion: Of the three kinds, Farz-7, Mkprak, and Uweb had the highest efficiency in turning soil moisture into grain yield, showing that the enhanced variety (Farz-7) is best suited to the local ecosystem.

Please see the link :- https://www.ikprress.org/index.php/JOGAE/article/view/319