Effect of mulch, irrigation and soil type on biomass and water use efficiencyof forage maize
2003
Iqbal, M.A. | Anwar-ul-Hassan,University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Pakistan).Inst. of Soil and Environmental Sciences
A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of mulch and irrigationlevel on biomass and water use efficiency of forage maize using clay and loamsoils during Autumn 2002. Two mulch levels, i.e. 0 (control) and 6.7 Mg ha-1 wereused. Three irrigation levels viz. 100 %, 80 % and 60 % of total crop waterrequirement (CWR) was determined at 30 mm deficit. Maize plants were harvestedtwelve weeks after sowing data regarding shoot fresh weight and leaf area indexwere recorded. Water use efficiency was calculated. Results revealed that wheatstraw mulch significantly affected the growth of maize as it decreased in freshweight of shoot, increased in leaf area index and water use efficiency, while soiltexture affected significantly the leaf area index mostly in clayey soil. Moregrowth of maize fodder was noticed in clayey soil than that in loamy soil.Maximum plant growth was noted in the case of l0 (100 % CWR) followed by l2(60% CWR) and I1 (80% CWR) in most of the cases for all the growth parametersstudied. Interactions between mulch and soil texture was found statisticallysignificant as increase in parameters like leaf area index, water use efficiencyand decreased in biomass were observed.
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