Modelling the effect of sowing date on the emergence, silking and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) in a moderately warm and dry production area

This research focused on accurately modelling emergence (VEEmergence) and silking (R1) dates using 5 cm deep soil temperature (ST) and how sowing date (SD) affects VEEmergence and R1 date of different maturity hybrids and which is the optimum sowing date in the changed climate. Three sowing dates were used between 4th April and 10th May. The same maize hybrids (FAO 290, FAO 350, FAO 420) were involved in the experiment between 2011–2013. The 5 cm deep soil temperature could be used for simulating the date of VEEmergence and R1 and the Percentage of Predicted Deviation (PD) was below 10%. When calculating the effective heat units (HU) at 5 cm depth, setting 6 °C as base temperature leads to better modelling. SD did not clearly affect yield since due to the influence of genotype and crop years. The FAO 290 hybrid had the lowest yield (11.534 t ha-1) and it responded sensitively to sowing date. Its highest yield (12.788 t ha-1; P < 0.05) could be obtained with SD3. FAO 350 and FAO 420 hybrids provided stable yields without any significant effect of SD. The highest yield was provided by the FAO 420 hybrid (13.494 t ha-1) with a wide SD interval (4th April – 10th May). The obtained findings help farmers in making grounded decisions to obtain high and stable yield under the changed climatic circumstances. The obtained findings help farmers in making grounded decisions to obtain high and stable yield under the changed climatic circumstances

Development of stomatal conductance of maize under moderately hot, dry production conditions

Received: January 29th, 2021 ; Accepted: November 10th, 2021 ; Published: November 12th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] field trial was conducted in Hungary, in a moderately warm, dry production area to determine the effect of single or split application of N-fertilizer on the stomatal conductance and grain yield of maize. The measurements were performed at on calcareous chernozem soil, in a strip field trial, under different weather conditions (2019 and 2020). In addition to the unfertilized control (A0) treatment, 60 (A60) and 120 kg N ha-1 (A120) applied as spring basal fertilizer were followed by two top-dressing treatments in V6 (A90) and V12 (A120) phenophases with doses of +30 and +30 kg N ha-1 , respectively. Stomatal conductance measurements were taken at V6, V12 and R1 phenological phases. It was found that stomatal conductance showed a decreasing trend with advancing phenological phases in both years, with 43.9% and 32.1% (P < 0.001; P < 0.01) decreases by the R1 phase, respectively. Application of higher doses of N fertilizer increased stomatal conductance, with the exception of the R1 phenological phase, which showed a decrease compared to the A0 treatment. The decrease in 2019 was caused by a reduction of soil moisture. Although there was sufficient water in the soil in 2020, due to the intermittent water shortages caused by but the large leaf area and rapid transpiration of the plants resulted in the stomata to close. The best fertilisation strategy was A60 and A120 kg ha-1 depending on the crop year. The study showed that the highest yield is obtained when the average stomatal conductance is around 250 mmol m-2 s -1 during the growing season

Effect of feeding liquid milk supplement on litter performances and on sow back-fat thickness change during the suckling period

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of liquid milk supplement on litter performance (weight development of the piglets, weaning weight and mortality) and on sow back-fat thickness change during the suckling period. <br><br> Data were collected from 150 litters, with the weight of a total of 1709 piglets measured at birth, at 14 days of age and at weaning (28 days), respectively. Sow (<i>n</i> = 150) back-fat depth was measured the day before farrowing, 14 days after farrowing and at weaning. In the control group (<i>n</i> = 363), the piglets were suckled and got pre-starter feed from day 10. In the four experimental groups (MS1; MS2; MS2 and MS4; <i>n</i> = 1346), the piglets received additional milk replacer in various concentrations from the 10th day of life. While there were no significant differences in birth weight between the control and experimental groups, we did find significant differences between the 14-day weights and weaning weights. The milk supplement significantly reduced mortality compared to the control (11.6 vs. 4.9; 5.9, 8.9; 8.3 %). However, there were no statistically significant differences between litter homogeneity data, based on the CV% of piglet weight. Three experimental groups (MS1, MS2 and MS4) were more homogenous compared to the control group at weaning (25.3 vs. 20.9; 20.3; 20.3 CV%). Based on the examination of sow back-fat thickness reduction, there were significant differences between the control (C) and MS3 groups (7.61 vs. 5.57 mm reduction, <i>P</i> < 0.05) during the suckling period. These results demonstrate the advantage of milk replacer on weaning weight. Litter homogeneity, piglet mortality and back-fat thickness of the sows were affected by providing milk replacer to the piglets during the suckling period