DEVELOPMENT RATES IN IDENTIFYING OPTIMUM SOWING DATES FOR HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY IN MAIZE (Zea mays L.)

J. RAMACHANDRAN¹*, S. VALLALKANNAN^2
1Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering and Agricultural Structures, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Kumulur, Trichy, India
²Department of Applied Science and Engineering, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Kumulur, Trichy, India
* Corresponding Author : eeesurya.tnau@gmail.com

Received : 18-09-2017     Accepted : 22-07-2017     Published : 12-08-2017
Volume : 9     Issue : 37       Pages : 4557 - 4560
Int J Agr Sci 9.37 (2017):4557-4560

Keywords : Maize, Development Rate, Pre-anthesis period and Post-anthesis period
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : The author acknowledges Dr. S. Vallal Kannan, Assistant Professor (Agronomy), TNAU for helping in completing this work in a successful manner. Also, sincere thanks to my parent for supporting me
Author Contribution : All author equally contributed

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal crop in world and the India. It can be grown throughout the year, but to achieve productivity of Maize, the growers have to know about the development rates of each stage in maize crop with respect to their locality. The phenological development of maize is classified into pre-anthesis and post-anthesis stages and is highly affected by genetic, climatic and environmental conditions. Kumulur in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu, India is selected as the study area. The average daily air temperature of 20 years (1992-2011) is used for estimating the development rates of each stage of crop and also the number of days between each stage is calculated. Development rates of maize for different stages of the crop were calculated for sowing of crop on1st and 15th of each month. The result is presented for Kharif, Rabi and summer season. The development rate of the crop helps the growers in optimal planting of crop to get maximum profitability and increases the viability.

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