Water use efficiencies of maize cultivars grown under rain-fed conditions

Daniel Kwasi Asare, Justice Okona Frimpong, Emmanuel Ofori Ayeh, Harry Mensah Amoatey

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Legon-Accra, Ghana.

DOI: 10.4236/as.2011.22018                

Abstract

Enhancing water use efficiencies of rain-fed maize is a requirement for sustainable maize production, particularly in areas prone to low/drought and erratic rainfall patterns. This study was conducted to assess the relationship between total biomass/grain yield and water use efficiencies of three maize cultivars (Golden Crystal, Mamaba and Obatanpa) grown under rain-fed conditions in a coastal savannah agro-ecological environment of Ghana. Results of the study showed that a unified linear model, WUETDM = 0.03TDM with R2 = 0.765 and P ≤ 0.001, described adequately the relation between wa-ter use efficiency and total biomass (dry matter), which is applicable for the three maize cultivars for both the major and minor cropping seasons. A linear model could only, however, describe adequately well the relation between WUEGY and GY for the major (WUEGY = 0.001GY – 0.67; R2 = 0.996; P ≤ 0.001) and minor (WUEGY = 0.002GY + 0.289; R2 = 0.992; P ≤ 0.001) cropping seasons for all the maize cultivars. The linear models developed for the maize cultivars, re-lating WUEGY to GY, are specific to each of the crop growing seasons, indicating that seasonal rainfall impacts significantly on harvest index of the maize cultivars but differently in each of the crop growing seasons as a results of dif-ferences in seasonal rainfall. However, the models could be used to estimate water use efficiencies of each of the three maize cultivars given the appropriate TDM and GY as inputs for the environment under which the study was conducted.

Keywords

Water Use Efficiency; Maize Cultivars; Rain-Fed

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Rockstr?m, J., Karlberg, L., Wani, S. P., Barron, J., Hatibu, N., Owesis, T., Bruggeman, A., Farahani, J. and Qiang, Z. (2010) Managing water in rain-fed agriculture – The need for a para-digm shift. Agricultural Water Management 97: 543-550.
[2]	Hatibu, N., Young, M. D. B., Gowing, J. W., Mahoo, H. F. and Mzirai, O. B. (2003) Developing improved dry land cropping systems for maize in semi-arid Tanzania. Part 1: Experimental evidence of the benefits of rainwater har-vesting. Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 39(3): 279-292.
[3]	Cakir, R. (2004) Effect of water stress at dif-ferent development stages on vegetative and reproductive growth of corn. Field Crops Research, 89(1): 1-16.
[4]	Wani, S. P., Pathak, P., Sreedevi, T. K., Singh, H. P. and Singh, P. 2003. Efficient management of rainwater for increased crop productivity and groundwater recharge in Asia. In: Kijne, J. W., Barker, R., Molden and D. (Eds.), Water Productivity in Agri-culture: Limits and Opportunity for Improvement. CABI Pub-lishing and International Water Management Institute, Wal-lingford, UK, and Colombo, p56.
[5]	Zaidi, P. H., Rafique, S., Rai, P. K. and Singh, N. N. (2003) Response of maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars to excess soil water stress: Mor-pho-physiological efforts and basis of tolerance. European Journal of Agronomy, 19(3) : 383-399.
[6]	Frimpong, J. O., Amoatey, H. M., Ayeh, E. O. and Asare, D. K. (2011) Produc-tivity and soil water use by rain-fedr maize cultivars in a coastal savannah environment. International Agrophysics, 25 (In press).
[7]	Tijani, F. O., Oyedele, D. J. and Aina, P. O. (2008) Soil moisture storage and water-use efficiency of maize planted in succession to different fallow treatments. Interna-tional Agrophysics, 22:81-87.
[8]	Adamtey, N, Cofie, O., Ofosu-Budu, K. G., Ofosu-Anim, J., Laryea, K. B. and Forester, D. (2010). Effect of N-enriched co-compost on transpiration efficiency and water-use efficiency of maize (zea maize L.) under controlled irrigation. Agricultural Water management, 97:995-1005.
[9]	Oktem, A. Simsek, M. and Okem, A. G. (2003) Deficit irrigation effects on sweet corn with drip irriga-tion system in a semi-arid region. I. Water-yield relationship. Agricultural Water Management, 61:63-74.
[10]	Yazar, A. Sezen, S. M. and Gencel, B. (2002) Drip irrigation of corn in the southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) area in Turkey. Irrigation Drainage Journal, 51:293-300.
[11]	Istanbulloglu, A., Koca-man, I., and Konuku, F. (2002). Water production relationship of maize under Tekirday conditions in Turkey. Pakistan Journal of Biological Science, 5:287-291.
[12]	Imark, S., Haman, D. Z. and Basting, R. (2000) Determination of crop water stress in-dex for irrigation timing and yield estimation of corn. Agron-omy Journal, 92:1221 1227.
[13]	Cetin, O. and Bilgel, L. (2002) Effect of different irrigation methods on shedding and yield of cotton. Agricultural Water Management, 54:1-15.
[14]	Grassini, P., Hahh, A. J. and Mercan J. L. 2009. Limits to maize productivity in the western corn-belts: A simulation analysis for fully irrigated and rain-fedr condition. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 149:1254-1265.
[15]	Abbas, G., Hussain, A. Ahmed, A. and Wajid, A. S. (2005) Water use efficiency of maize as affected by irrigation schedules and nitrogen rates. Journal of Agricul-ture Society Science, 4(1): 339 -342.
[16]	FAO/UNESCO (1994) Soil map of the world, revised legend, World Resources Report 60. FAO, Rome, pp 146.
[17]	Afakpui, G. K. S., Ab-dulai, M. S, Berchie, J. N., Ennim, S. and Sallah, P. Y. K. (2005). Maize production guide, Food Crops Development Project, MoFA, CSIR and SARI, pp 15.
[18]	Osei, S. A. and Effa-Baah, K. (1994) Quality protein maize as a broiler feed ingredient. Proceedings of Ghana animal science symposium, 22: 45 -49.
[19]	Asiedu, E. A., Sallah, P. Y. K., Twu-masi-Afriyie, S, Obeng,-Antwi, K., Ahenkora, K. and Adusei-Akowah, P. (2001) Agronomic and post harvest char-acterization of the three quality protein maize hybrids develoed in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science 34: 57-62.
[20]	Dankyi, A. A., Sallah, P. Y. K., Adu-Appiah, A. and Gyamera,-Antwi, A. (2005) Determination of the adoption of quality protein maize, Obatanpa, in Southern Ghana – Lo-gistic regression analysis. Paper presented at the 5th West and Central Africa Regional Maize Workshop, IITA – Cotonou, Benin Republic, 2nd – 7th May, p. 6 -13.
[21]	Morris, M. L., Tripp, R. and Dankyi, A. A. (1999). Adoption and impacts of improved maize production technology: A case study of the Ghana Grains development Project. Economics Program Paper 99 – 01. Mexico, D. F.: CIMMIT. p33 -41.
[22]	Hartman, R. H. (1998) Soil water balancer. College of Soil Physics. Interna-tional Centre for Theoretical Physics, 14th – 30th April, 1997, Trieste, Italy, SMT. p 73-86.
[23]	Campbell, G. S. (1985). Soil Physics with Basic: transport models for soils – plant systems. Development in Soil Science 14, Elsevier Science Publishers B. V., Amsterdam Netherlands, p 150.
[24]	Hunsaker, D. J., Kimball, B. A., Printer Jnr., P. J., La Mante, R. L., and Wall, G. W. (1996). Carbon dioxide enrichment and irrigation effect effects on wheat evaporation and water use efficiency. Trans-actions of ASAE, 39(4): 1345-1355.
[25]	Mox, X., Liu, S., Lin, Z., Xu, Y. Xiang, Y. and Mcvicar, T. R. (2005) Prediction of yield, water consumption and water use efficiency with a SVAT – crop growth model using remotely sensed data on the North China Plain. Ecological Modelling Journal, 183: 301-322.
[26]	Dagdelin, N., Yilmaz, E. Sezgin, F. and Gurbuz, T. (2006) water-yield relation and water use efficiency of cot-ton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and second crop corn (Zea mays L.) in western Turkey. Agricultural Water Management, 82(1-2): 63-85.
[27]	El-Tantawy, M. M., Ouda, A. S. and Khalil, A. F. (2007) Irrigation scheduling for maize grown under Middle Egypt conditions. Research Journal of Agricul-ture and Biological Sciences, 3(5): 456-462.
[28]	Meena, R. P., Meena, R. P. and Bhimavat, B. S. (2009) Moisture use func-tions and yield of rain-fed maize as influenced by indigenous technologies. Asian Agric- History, 2(13): 155-158.