Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Impact of nitrogen fertilisation and irrigation on water utilization efficiency, N accumulation, growth and yields of Zea mays L.

Author(s):

Waleed Hassan Abou El-Hassan ¹, Emad Maher Hafez ²*, Alaa A. Ahmed Ghareib ¹, Mohamed Ragab Freeg ¹, Mahmoud Fathy Seleiman ^{3, 4}*

Recieved Date: 2014-05-09, Accepted Date: 2014-09-18

Abstract:

Water and N are considered the most limiting factors for the growth and yield during the grain filling stage, particularly in the arid, semi-arid zones. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of N applications (0, 140, 280 and 420 kg ha^-1) and water regimes (I₁= 100%, I₂= 80% and I₃= 60% of field capacity) on nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), water utilization efficiency (WU_tE) and related parameters and grain yield and its components of Zea mays L. (cv maize hybrid Giza 10). The highest N application resulted in a significant increase in grain yield and its components, accumulated N in grains and shoots. However, it significantly decreased apparent N fertiliser recovery (ANR) and N utilisation efficiency when all water regimes were applied. N application of 280 kg ha^-1 was the optimal in our study for such environmental conditions. Yield and its components were increased with increasing soil field capacity from 60 to 100%. There was a significant effect of the interaction between irrigation and N treatments on N efficiencies, growth and consequently on yields. The results showed that the yield of maize can be increased through the reasonable N application (i.e., declining the gap between the recommended N levels and the estimated levels) and suitable irrigation regime (I₂). Also, the optimal management of N practices is highly recommended to avoid the loss of the N when there is a deficiency or excessiveness in water supplied to the soil. 

Keywords:

Field capacity, grain yield, maize, N accumulation, N-application, NUE, WU_tE

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2014
Volume: 12
Issue: 3&4
Category: Agriculture
Pages: 217-222

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