Maize tolerance to aluminum toxic soils in Indonesia
1990
Kasim, F. | Zaini, Z. (Sukarami Research Institute for Food Crops, Padang (Indonesia)) | Granados R, G. (Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo, Bangkok (Thailand)) | Arya, L.M. (American Association of Retired Persons, (USA))
Maize ranks second to rice amongst the cereal crops in Indonesia. However, the land areas available for expansion of maize production consist of soils of Oxisol and Ultisol orders. The characteristics of these soils include poor fertility, high acidity and aluminum toxicity, low organic matter and low effective cation exchange capacity. High rainfall and rapid internal drainage result in excessive leaching of nutrients. Maize is sensitive to acid soil conditions. The main effects of acidity and aluminum are expressed in reduced root growth and confinement of roots to the surface 10-20 cm of the soil. This limits plant's ability to absorb water and nutrients from a larger volume of soil. Where variations in soil condition cause variations in root growth to be observed, maize production is usually highly correlated with root zone depth and rooting density. The two most important approaches to crop and soil management in acid soils are selection of Al-tolerant varieties and application of lime and organic matter to neutralize Al. Deep placement of lime improves rooting depth and increases availability of water and nutrients. Selection and breeding of high yielding maize varieties adaptable to high Al soils are being undertaken. Some materials derived from CIMMYT maize germplasm together with local populations have been evaluated. The state of progress in developing the populations is reported
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