A field study of soil water stress effects on grain yield and quality of maize | |
| Author | Olis, Alexander C. |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. AE-81-17 |
| Subject(s) | Plant-water relationships Plant-soil relationships Corn--Quality |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | A field experiment with maize (Zea mays~.) was conducted on a Sulfic Tropaquept soil located at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand during the dry season (January to May) 1981 to determine the effects of water stress imposed at different growth stages on grain yield and N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, crude fat and crude protein content of the grain. There were six treatments each having three replicates arranged in a randomized complete block design. Stress was imposed at one of the following growth stages: vegetative, flowering, grain fill and maturity. Highest grain yield was 4.22 t/ha (Stress at Maturity) and the lowest was 0.70 t/ha (Continuous Stress). The flowering and grain fill stages were found to be the critical stages of growth at which water stress significantly reduced grain yields. Stress at flowering and grain fill stages resulted in 72% and 66% grain yield reduction respectively. Stress at the vegetative and maturity stages did not significantly reduce grain yields. Percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and crude protein were higher in the stressed than in the non-stressed treatments. Continuous stress resulted in the highest N, P, Ca and Mg contents with 2.02%, .34%, .0036% and .202% respectively. N, Ca and Mg contents were lowest in the non-stressed treatment with 1.68%, .0026% and .179% respectively while p, content was lowest in stress at the vegetative stage (0.28%). There were no significant differences found among the treatments for both sodium and potassium contents. Sodium contents ranged from 0.014% to 0.019% while potassium contents ranged from 0.37% to 0.38%. Crude fat percentages were significantly different with the highest found in the non-stressed treatment (6.39%) and lowest in stress at grain fill stage (5.39%). Crude protein was highest with continuous stress (12.6%) and lowest in the non-stressed treatment (10.5%). |
| Year | 1981 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Eppendorfer, W.H. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Olesen, Svend Elsnab ;Edwards, Peter |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of Australia |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1981 |