Yield of corn subjected to different levels of water stress

Abstract

Field studies were conducted to determine corn (Zea mays L.) response to different intensities of drought to guide programs for the development of improved irrigation management practices in semi-arid zones. Centralmex cultivar was subjected to six different levels of irrigation using a linesource sprinkler irrigation system in the field in an alluvial soil. Irrigation treatments T₁, T₂, T₃ and T4 did not induce statistically significant differences in terms of grain yield and shoot dry weight. Water-use efficiency increased slightly with moderate decrease in the irrigation levels reaching the highest value at irrigation treatment T₄. Further reductions in irrigation levels induced a linear decrease in water-use effiency. The relationships that occurred among grain yield, shoot dry weight, number of grains per ear, weight of 1.000 grains, water-use efficiency and irrigation treatments indicate that further study of physiological parameters under field condition may be useful in improving knowledge on corn grain yield as affected by drought stress.