Ajuste poblacional en el cultivo de maíz (Zea mays L) bajo distintos sistemas de siembra

Abstract

In Ecuador there are 322,846 hectares dedicated to planting corn, with a production of 1,479,770 t/m annually. While in the province of Manabí there are 95,519 ha, with a production of 267,946 t/m per year. The objective of this work was to evaluate the population effect on corn cultivation under different planting systems and the number of seeds per planting site. The experiment was conducted at the facilities of the Faculty of Agronomic Engineering of the Technical University of Manabí, located in the Lodana parish km 13½ via Portoviejo-Santa Ana. 16 treatments were evaluated based on the combination of the levels of Factor A: system of sowing (single and double row), Factor B: sowing densities (57,000, 73,000, 95,000 and 140,000 plants ha-1) and Factor C: number of seeds per sowing site (one and two seeds per site). Measurements were made such as plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll index, leaf area index, grain weight, number of grains and production. A completely randomized block design was used with an arrangement of subdivided plots and an analysis of variance was performed at 5%. Among the main results, it stands out that production was favored based on the higher planting density evaluated, increasing production by more than 200%. In addition, the use of a single row planting system favors morphological aspects such as greater stem diameter of the plant. plant among others. It is concluded that it is essential to increase super seeding populations based on the growth characteristics of commercial corn hybrids in Ecuador.