Performance of 16 maize inbred lines under four different levels of moisture supply
1999
Machida, L. (Crop Breeding Institute, Harare (Zimbabwe). Department of Research and Specialist Services)
In a preliminary study aimed at developing drought tolerant hybrid maize varieties, a total of sixteen inbred genotypes were evaluated at Chisumbanje Experiment Station (C.E.S.) during the dry (winter) season under four different levels of field moisture achieved by delaying irrigation at flowering by 0,1,2, and 3 weeks. The group of inbred lines consisted often ten genotypes which emerge silks before the initiation of pollen-shedding and six which emerge silks after the initiation of pollen-shedding under non-stressed soil moisture conditions. The experimental design was a split plot with moisture levels as main plots, genotypes as subplots and replicated three times. Measured as cumulative evaporation deficits from an open pan, the delays in irrigation at flowering of 0, 1, 2 and 3 weeks were equivalent to 81.9mm, 128.5mm, 186.6mm and 240.7mm respectively. Genotype main effects were significantly different (p=O.OO1) for all the studied traits which included plant stand, days to midpollen, days to midsilk, response to leaf diseases (Exserohilum turcicum and Puccinia rust scores), percentages of total lodged, root lodged and stalk lodged plants, anthesis silking interval (ASI), and number of ears per plant (NEPP). Moisture or irrigation levels had significantly different effects on plant stand (p=0.05), ASI (p=0.001 ) and NEPP (p=0.05). Interaction of genotype x irrigation was significant (p=0.05) for both NEPP and ASI. Grain yield and cob disease were not analysed due to rodent attack which led to more than 50% grain loss in atleast 50% of the plots. For irrigation main effects ASI increased as moisture stress increased, and NEPP decreased as both ASI and moisture stress increased.
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