Current arable land and increasing food demand necessitates the practice of double and multiple cropping systems with inclusion of ultra-fast maize hybrids, which are characterized by smaller size, fewer leaves per pl...Current arable land and increasing food demand necessitates the practice of double and multiple cropping systems with inclusion of ultra-fast maize hybrids, which are characterized by smaller size, fewer leaves per plant, lower leaf area and fewer self-shading problems, under irrigation. In this context, a field experiment was conducted for two successive cropping seasons 2008/2009 to 2009/2010 at Kenilworth Experimental Station to evaluate the effect of row spacings and plant density on growth. Three row spacing （0.225, 0.45 and 0.90 m） and five plant densities （5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 plants m^-2） were used. Treatments were combined in a factorial combination and laid out in a completely randomized design with replications consisting of five single plants randomly selected from each treatment for destructive sampling. Growth factors reacted differently to row spacing by plant density. At crop establishment, growth indicators were not significantly affected by either main effects or a combination thereof. However, at the end of the vegetative phase, almost all growth indicators reached a maximum and were significantly affected by treatment interactions. Growth analysis showed that there was an interaction effect of row spacing by plant density on plant height, dry matter （DM） accumulation, leaf area index （LAI）, crop growth rate （CGR） and net assimilation rate （NAR） of maize. Therefore, the current investigation demonstrated that a row spacing of 0.45 m or 0.90 m with a plant density of 10 plants m^-2 was optimum for the selected ultra-fast maize hybrid under irrigation.展开更多
文摘Current arable land and increasing food demand necessitates the practice of double and multiple cropping systems with inclusion of ultra-fast maize hybrids, which are characterized by smaller size, fewer leaves per plant, lower leaf area and fewer self-shading problems, under irrigation. In this context, a field experiment was conducted for two successive cropping seasons 2008/2009 to 2009/2010 at Kenilworth Experimental Station to evaluate the effect of row spacings and plant density on growth. Three row spacing （0.225, 0.45 and 0.90 m） and five plant densities （5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 plants m^-2） were used. Treatments were combined in a factorial combination and laid out in a completely randomized design with replications consisting of five single plants randomly selected from each treatment for destructive sampling. Growth factors reacted differently to row spacing by plant density. At crop establishment, growth indicators were not significantly affected by either main effects or a combination thereof. However, at the end of the vegetative phase, almost all growth indicators reached a maximum and were significantly affected by treatment interactions. Growth analysis showed that there was an interaction effect of row spacing by plant density on plant height, dry matter （DM） accumulation, leaf area index （LAI）, crop growth rate （CGR） and net assimilation rate （NAR） of maize. Therefore, the current investigation demonstrated that a row spacing of 0.45 m or 0.90 m with a plant density of 10 plants m^-2 was optimum for the selected ultra-fast maize hybrid under irrigation.
