Technological development of sustainable maize production and its effect on yield stability

In 2015 and 2016, we examined the effect of NPK nutrients, sowing date and plant density on yield on typical meadow soil. The amount of precipitation was 282.0 mm in 2015 (January–September), 706.0 mm in 2016 and the 30-year averageis 445.8 mm. Agrotechnical factors: – Experiment a)            5 Dow AgroSciences hybrid with three sowing dates and three plant densities – Experiment b) In 2015 eight, in 2016 ten hybrids with different genetic characteristics and growing seasons, with control (without fertilization), N80+PK and N160+PKtreatments, five plant densities (50–90 thousand) with 10 thousand plants difference between the different densities. In a drought year, we reached the higher yield in the earlier sowing date and with the lower lower plant density of 70 thousand plants ha-1-. The maximum yield, depending on the agrotechnical factors, was 10–12 t ha-1 in 2015, while in 2016 it was 14–16 t ha-1. Yield stability can be increased using hybrid-specific cultivation techniques

Az NPK műtrágyázás és a tőszám hatása a kukorica produktivitására bioetanol célú termesztésnél

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Correlation between the weather in 2017 and the productivity of maize

In our research we examined the effect of the hybrid, the nutrient supply, the number of plants and the abiotic factors (temperature, amount of precipitation) on the yield, crop quality and yield stability of maize. We devoted special attention to the natural nutrient utilization ability and fertilizer reaction of maize. The experiment took place in Hajdúszoboszló on chernozem soil, on a nearly 8 ha field. The size of one plot was 206 m2; therefore, this experiment was half-industrial. We tested six hybrids with different genetic characteristics and growing seasons. I analysed the correlation between the nutrient supply and the yield of maize hybrids with control treatment (treatment without fertilization) and with N 80, P2O5 60, K2O 70 kg ha-1 and N 160, P2O5 120, K2O 140 kg ha-1 fertilizer treatments. The yield increasing effect of the fertilizer also depended on the number of plants per hectare to a great extent. The number of plants of the six tested hybrids was 60, 70, and 80 thousand plants ha-1. In Hajdúszoboszló in 2017, up to October, 445.8 mm of rain fell, which is in line with the average values of 30 years, and is only 45.7 mm less than those. In 2017, the effect of increasing the plant number was slighter. Averaged over the observed fertilizer treatments and hybrids, the yield was 9.10 t ha-1 with 60 thousand plants ha-1, 9.11 t ha-1 with 70 thousand plants ha-1 and 9.12 t ha-1 with 80 thousand plants ha-1. Without fertilization, in most cases, increasing the plant number from 60 thousand plants ha-1 to 70-80 thousand plants ha-1 does not increased the yield but decreased it. With N80+PK treatment the yield changed between 8.90 and 11.27 t ha-1. The effect of increasing the plant number was just slightly observable and did not show a clear tendency. The effect of changing the plant number, even with the highest dosage of fertilizers, could not be detected adequately. In contrast with the plant number, the effect of the different fertilizer treatments was expressly traceable. Compared to the control treatment (treatment without fertilization), with N80+PK fertilizer dosage with 60 thousand plants ha-1 the yield increased by 3.36–4.99 t ha-1. The smallest demonstrable proof, i.e. the LSD5% was 0.22 t ha-1, which means that fertilization, in each case, significantly increased the yield. When analysing the effect of fertilization in the average of the hybrids and the different plant numbers, a yield of 5.61 t ha-1 could be detected, which value was 10.12 t ha-1 with N80+PK treatment and 11.61 t ha-1 with N160+PK treatment. Thus, it can be calculated that compared to the treatment without fertilization, the N80+PK treatment increased the yield by 4.51 t ha-1, while compared to the N80+PK treatment, the N160+PK treatment increased the yield by 1.49 t ha-1. In addition to agrotechnical factors, in maize production, the impact of the crop year is specifically of high importance. The average yield of hybrids (in the average of the different fertilizer treatments) was 6.81 t ha-1 in 2015, 11.86 t ha-1 in 2016 and 9.11 t ha-1 in 2017. When comparing the yield results against the precipitation data, it is clearly visible that the amount of rain fell in the January– October period is directly proportional to the average yield of maize. The effect of the crop year can be defined in a 5.05 t ha-1 difference in the yield

A talaj termékenységét megőrző fajtaspecifikus kukoricatermesztési technológiák fejlesztése tartamkísérletben = Development of hybrid-specific maize technologies for the protecting of soil fertility in long-term experiment

Gazdasági előnyökkel járó hatékony hibridspecifikus termesztési technológiát dolgoztunk ki. Korai vetéssel - az optimális vetésidőhöz viszonyítva - 4-5 %-kal, a megkésett vetésidőhöz viszonyítva 6-10 %-kal is tudtuk csökkenteni a betakarításkori szemnedvesség tartalmat. A kukoricahibridek agroökológiai műtrágyaoptimuma előveteménytől, évjárattól és a hibrid termőképességétől függően N 40-120, P2O5 25-75. K2O 30-90 kg/ha hatóanyag. A hosszabb tenyészidejű hibridek (FAO 400-500) agroökológiai műtrágyaoptimuma a korai tenyészidejű hibridekhez viszonyítva kedvező évjáratban N 30-40 kg/ha-ral nagyobb volt. A hektáronkénti 10 ezer tőszámváltozás a termést 1,5-2,0 tonnával képes növelni vagy az optimum felett csökkenteni. Az optimális tőszám mellett a tőszámoptimum intervallumot is meghatároztuk, amit a hibridek még terméscsökkenés nélkül elviselnek. A tőszám befolyásolja a kukoricahibridek hektoliter tömeg alakulását is. Általában a 60, 75 ezer tő/ha-nál a legkedvezőbb, de a hibridek közötti különbség sokkal magasabb és állandóbb. A tőszámnöveléssel a szem keményítőtartalma nő, a fehérje- és az olajtartalma csökken. Az optimálisnál nagyobb N adag szignifikánsan csökkenti a talaj pH értékét, növeli a NO3-N mennyiségét. A hibridspecifikus technológia a talajtermékenységre gyakorolt hatása mellett elősegíti a klimatikus-, edafikus tényezők, a biológiai alapok, valamint az agrotechnikai tényezők közötti pozitív interakciók érvényesülését. | We have worked out an effective hybrid specific technology of plant production of economic benefit. By early sowing we could decrease the seed moisture content at harvest by 4-5%, compared to the optimal and by 6-10% compared to the latest sowing time. The agro-ecological optimum amount of fertilizers for maize hybrids is N40-120, P2O5 25-75, K2O 30-90 kg/ha active agent depending on fore crop, season effect and productivity of hybrids. The agro-ecological optimum amount of fertilizers for maize hybrids with longer vegetation period (FAO 400-500) was greater by N 30-40 kg/ha in the favourable seasons than for early maturating hybrids. A 10 000 plants/ha change in stock density can increase yields by 1,5-2 t/ha, but over the optimum level, yields are reduced. We determined not only the optimal plant density but the interval of optimal density, which can be tolerated without yield reduction by hybrids. Plant density has an effect on hectolitre weight of maize hybrids. Usually, it is the most favourable in the case of 60, 75 000 plants/ha, but the differences between hybrids are higher and more stable. Starch content rises, while protein and oil content drops in grain as a result of an increasing plant density. The higher than optimum N dose has decreased significantly the pH value of soil and increased NO3-N quantity. Hybrid specific technologies-besides having an impact on soil productivity-assist the predominance of the interaction between climatic, edaphic and biological factors