Influence of Planting Geometry on Growth, Phenology, and Yield of White Maize in Padma-Washed Lands

Abstract

This study was carried out at the Singair Upazilla of Manikganj during rabi 2015-16 to evaluate the optimum plant spacing of white maize varieties. There were three plant spacing viz. S1 (50 cm x 25 cm), S2 (60 cm x 25 cm) and S3 (70 cm x 25 cm) and two white maize varieties viz.V1 (PSC-121) and V2 (KS-510). The study was conducted using a factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The variety, V1 (PSC-121) exhibited superior performance, displaying higher plant height, cob length, cob breadth, number of rows cob-1, number of grains row-1, total number of grains cob-1, 100-grain weight, grain yield plant-1, and grain yield ha-1. However, the variety, V2 (KS-510) took more days to reach key growth stages and showed lower performance in several yield attributes. Plant spacing also played a significant role, with S3 (70 cm x 25 cm) producing the maximum plant height, cob dimensions, and grain yield per plant but showed the lowest grain yield ha-1. Conversely, S1 (50 cm x 25 cm) resulted in the highest grain yield, stover yield, and biological yield, despite lower plant height and cob dimensions. The interaction between variety and plant spacing revealed interesting outcomes, such as V1S3 demonstrated the tallest plants, V2S3 exhibited higher stover yield, and V1S1 achieved the highest grain yield, biological yield, and harvest index. The study was found no significant variation in days to 1st tasseling, days to 1st silking, days to maturity, and harvest index across different plant spacing treatments. In conclusion, this research provides valuable insights into optimizing yield performance in white maize cultivation by considering both the choice of variety and appropriate planting geometry / plant spacing.