Sowing Environments and Yield of Maize (Zea mays L.) Cultivars under Changing Climate Conditions of North Western Himalayan Region

Abstract

Sowing dates, as one of the primary agronomic practices have significant influence over yield of maize especially during the times of climate change.  Therefore, the present field investigation was conducted during the Kharif cropping seasons of 2013 and 2014 to evaluate different sowing dates for their influence over maize (Zea mays L.) yield. The field experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with factorial arrangement consisting of four dates of sowing and three maize cultivars. The study results revealed that sowing of crop by 10th June can have taller plants (261.5 and 265.2 cm for 2013 and 2014, respectively), significantly better yield contributing characters of maize such as number of cobs per plant (1.1 and 1.1 for 2013 and 2014, respectively), number of grains per cob (258.7 and 268.3 for 2013 and 2014, respectively) and test weight (268.5 and 271.6 grams for 2013 and 2014, respectively). Similarly, the significantly higher maize grain (57.3 and 60.1 quintal/hectare for 2013 and 2014, respectively) and stover yield (108.8 and 109.2 quintal/hectare for 2013 and 2014, respectively) was recorded with sowing of maize crop by 10th June.  Among the maize cultivars, HQPM-1 resulted in substantially higher maize grain (53.9 and 56.5 quintal/hectare for 2013 and 2014, respectively) and stover yield (102.9 and 104.1 quintal/hectare for 2013 and 2014, respectively). Based on the present field investigation, it can be concluded that sowing of maize by 10th June and maize cultivar HQPM-1 can be recommended for better yield levels under the given conditions of North-western Himalayas.