Comparative Yield and Photosynthetic Characteristics of Two Corn (Zea mays L.) Hybrids Differing in Maturity under Different Irrigation Treatments

Effective irrigation strategies are of great significance for improving crop yields. There is an increasing concern that short-season corn hybrids are gradually being encouraged to plant in the North China Plain (NCP) with the development of mechanized grain harvesting, but the photosynthetic characteristics and productivity of short-season hybrids are not well documented. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of different irrigation treatments on photosynthetic characteristics, dry matter accumulation (DMA) and photo-assimilate translocation (PAT/PT), grain yield (GY) and water productivity (WP) of two corn hybrids differing in maturity. In the experiment plots under the rainout shelter facility, short-season hybrid Denghai518 (DH518) and medium- and full-season hybrid Denghai605 (DH605) were grown under three irrigation levels (severe water stress, T1; mild water stress, T2; and non-stress, T3) by two irrigation methods (flood irrigation, FI; surface drip irrigation, SDI) in 2020 and 2021. The results indicated that non-stomatal limitation (NSL) was the main factor leading to the reduction in photosynthesis during the reproductive stage. Severe water stress significantly decreased net photosynthetic rate (Pₙ) and chlorophyll soil-plant analysis development (SPAD) value, resulting in lower DMA and GY. The contribution rate of vegetative organ photosynthate before flowering (CRP) decreased with the irrigation levels increasing. DMA, GY and WP of SDI increased by 16.23%, 21.49% and 51.31%, respectively, compared to FI. The yields of DH518 were 7.22% lower than those of DH605. The WP penalty for DH605 was attributed to a relatively larger ET. It suggested that applying the optimum irrigation level (T3) under SDI could increase DMA, GY and WP of summer corn in the NCP.