Development and yields of the single maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids "Aris", "Alexandros" and "Nickerson-702"
1988
Karamanos, I.A. | Theodorou, G.Th. (Agricultural College of Athens, Athens (Greece). Lab. of Crop Production)
The growth, development and final yields of the Greek single hybrids "Aris" and "Alexandros" and of the American hybrid "Nickerson-702" (NSC-702) were examined in a field experiment. A delay was observed in the rate of seedling emergence of "Aris" in comparison with the other hybrids, which eventually resulted in a lower plant density (4700 plants/ha for "Aris" over 6400 plants for "Alexandros" and "NSC-702"). A similar behaviour of "Aris" was also observed in germination tests under controlled conditions. "Alexandros" and in second place, "Aris" exhibited significantly higher yields per plant than "NSC-702". This superiority of the Greek hybrids was attributed to the higher number of cobs/plant, the greater grain weight/cob, the greater leaf area, and, finally, to the increased translocation of solutes from the stalk to cobs. Conversely, "NSC-702" exhibited the highest harvest index. "Alexandros" achieved the highest crop yield (20.65 tn/ha), followed by "NSC-702" (18.11 tn/ha) and finally by "Aris" (15.93 tn/ha) because of the lower plant density. Both Greek hybrids exhibited higher yields/plant than "NSC-702", at a given density, which is indicative of their potential to produce under strong competition. "Aris" matured physiologically earlier (in about 125 days) than both "Alexandros" and "NSC-702" which matured in about 140 days.
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