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Effect of Irrigation and Mulch on the Yield of Maize in Southern Areas of Bangladesh (2015--2016)

S. S. A. KAMAR
Scientific Officer, RARS, Rahmatpur, Barisal

M. A. R. AKANDA
Chief Scientific Officer, IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur

M. S. UDDIN
Principal Scientific Officer, RARS, Rahmatpur, Barisal

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

This study was conducted at the farmer's field of Babugong Upazilla, Barisal to determine the effect of irrigation sequences and straw mulch on the yield of maize. The experiment consisted of two factors: irrigation and mulch. The irrigation treatments were placed in the main plot as I₁: Farmer practice, I₂: One irrigation at 4 leaf stage, I₃: Two irrigations each at 4 leaf stage and 8-10 leaf stage, and I₄: Three irrigations each at 4 leaf stage, 8-10 leaf stage and tasseling stage. The subplot treatments were: M₁: No mulch, M₂: Mulch with 1 cm thickness, M₃: Mulch with 2 cm thickness, and M₄: Mulch with 3 cm thickness. The variety of test crops was BARI hybrid Maize-9. I₄ (Three irrigations each at 4 leaf stage, 8-10 leaf stage, and tasseling stage) produced the highest plant height (274.3 cm) stating that plant height is directly proportional to water availability but the quantity must not exceed the optimal quantity. From two year observations, I₃M₃ (Two irrigations each at 4 leaf stage and 8-10 leaf stage with 2cm thick mulch) produced the highest number of grain per cob and 100-grain weight. The highest grain yield and biological yield were also obtained from I₃M₃ over two years of observations. Among all treatments, I₃M₃(Two irrigations each at 4 leaf stage and 8-10 leaf stage with 2cm thick mulch) produced the highest BCR (1.70).

Keywords: Straw mulch, Irrigation, Maize, Weeding

Location:

Start Date: 00-00-2015

End Date: 00-00-2016

Program Area: Crop-Soil-Water Management

Commodity: Irrigation scheduling, Mulching, Maize

Objectives:

Keeping these aspects in mind, an experiment was carried out during the last two seasons to study the effect of mulch and irrigation management on the yield and water productivity of maize with the following objectives

To investigate the effect of straw mulch and irrigation on the yield of maize,
To investigate the soil moisture content and water productivity during the growing stages of maize.

Methodology:

The experiment was conducted at the farmer’s field of Babugong, Barisal from 25 November 2015 to 12 April, 2016to study the effects of straw mulch on irrigation management and the interactions between yield and water use of maize. The test crop was a high-yielding variety of maize: BARI hybrid Maize 9 (BHM−9). This variety is popular due to its high yield potential and stress-tolerant characteristics. The recommended doses of urea, triple superphosphate, muriate of potash, gypsum, zinc sulphate, borc acid, cowdung at the rate of 500, 240, 180, 240, 10, 5 kg/ha and 6 t/ha, respectively, were applied. One-third of urea and the entire doses of other fertilizers were applied at the time of final land preparation. The rest two-thirds of urea was top-dressed in two equal splits at 30 and 50 DAS. The first weeding was done manually at 20 DAS and also the thinning was done on the same day keeping only one healthy plant per hill; the rest of the plants were uprooted carefully to avoid disturbance to the nearby plants. The subsequent weeding was done at 64 DAS during the growing season of the crop.

Experimental design

The experiment consisted of two factors: irrigation and mulch. Irrigation and mulch had four levels or treatments. Irrigation was scheduled based on the depth of water required. The irrigation treatments were allocated to the main plot and the mulches in the subplot. The irrigation and mulch treatments were:

Main plot: Irrigation (4)

Farmer practice

One irrigation at 4 leaf stage

Two irrigations at 4 leaf stage and 8-10 leaf stage

Three irrigations at 4 leaf stage,8-10 leaf stage, and tasseling stage

Subplot: Mulch (4)

No Mulch

Mulch with 1.0 cm

Mulch with 2.0 cm

Mulch with 3.0 cm

Quantification and application of irrigation

Irrigation was applied based on the depth of water required.

The water use of a crop field is generally described in terms of water productivity (WP), which is the ratio of the crop yield to the total amount of water used in the field during the entire growing period of the crop. The WP demonstrates the productivity of water in producing crop yield. The collected data were analyzed using MSTAT statistical package and the mean differences were adjusted by LSD.

Source of Information: Annual Research Report 2015-2016, Irrigation and Water Management Division BARI, Joydebpur, Gazipur

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

From two years’ experimental results, it was found that farmers’ practice, I₄ (Three irrigations at 4 leaf stage, 8-10 leaf stage, and tasseling stage) produced the highest plant height (274.3 cm) which indicated that the plant height was directly related to the amount of applied water. From two years’ observations, I₃M₃ (Two irrigations at 4 leaf stage and 8-10 leaf stage with 2cm mulch) produced the highest number of grain per cob and 100-grain weight. The highest grain yield and biological yield was also obtained from the same treatment, I₃M₃ over the study years. Among all the treatments, I₃M₃(Two irrigations at 4 leaf stage and 8-10 leaf stage with 2cm mulch) produced the highest BCR (1.70). Thus, from this study, it is revealed that two irrigations at 4 leaf stage and 8-10 leaf stage with 2cm mulch are the best options for the optimal yield of the selected maize variety, BARI hybrid Maize 9 (BHM-9).

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings