The growth of maize. I. The effect of plant density on yield of digestible dry matter and grain

Abstract

SUMMARYThree maize hybrids (Kelvedon 75A, Kelvedon 33, and Anjou 210) were grown under irrigated conditions at a wide range of density from 5·4 to 21·6 seeds/m2 at a rectangularity of 1:1. For yield of digestible dry matter at the time of silage harvest (7 October) a seed rate of 10·8 seeds/m2 (44000/acre) appeared adequate, as doubling the density to 21·6/m2 only resulted in 7% higher yield. K 33, which is a late·maturing hybrid bred for silage in south-east England (50·5–52·5 °N) produced the highest total yield of digestible dry matter due to a high yield of digestible stem. However, the dry matter % of this material would be too low for good ensilage and for a high level of feed intake. In the early grain hybrid K 75 A, 62% of the digestible dry matter was contained in the ear at the silage stage which improved the digestibility and dry matter % of the whole crop with only a 12% lower yield than K 33.The optimum density for grain was 10·8 seeds/m2. This is a higher response to density than is believed to occur in field crops in Britain as in these experiments the seed was planted on the square and irrigation was applied at moisture sensitive stages. The parabolic relationship between grain yield and density was closely related to grain number per unit area. At 10·8 seeds/m2 all three hybrids were of similar yield and grain number per unit area. In Anjou 210 this was achieved with one large ear per plant, whilst for the two Kelvedon hybrids mean ear production was 1·34/plant but with 27% fewer grains per ear.