EFFECT OF DIFFERENT SOWING DATES AND IRRIGATION SCHEDULES ON YIELD, WATER-USE EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMICS OF MAIZE (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Institute, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad during kharif 2016 and rabi 2016-17 with four dates of sowing (18 June, 4 July, 19 July and 10 August) and four irrigation regimes (I0: Control (Rainfed); I1: 0.4 IW/CPE; I2: 0.6 IW/CPE and I3: 0.8 IW/CPE) in kharif 2016. On similar lines the trial was conducted with four dates of sowing (1 November, 18 November, 1 December and 17 December) and
four irrigation regimes (I1: 0.4 IW/CPE; I2: 0.6 IW/CPE; I3: 0.8 IW/CPE and I4: 1.0 IW/CPE) in rabi 2016-17. Among different dates of sowing, highest number of rows cob-1 (15.3, 13.2), number of grains row-1 (24.4, 22.5), test weight (30.2, 26.8 g) and grain yield (6963, 5396 kg ha-1) were recorded with 4 July (D2) and 1 November (D1) sown crops during kharif 2016 and rabi 2016-17 respectively. Out of irrigation regimes tested, highest number of rows cob-1 (14.5, 14.8), number of grains row-1 (25.5, 25.2), test weight (28.5, 28.9 g) and grain yield (6369, 7105 kg ha-1) were observed at 0.8 IW/CPE (I3) and I4 (1.0 IW/CPE) during kharif 2016
and rabi 2016-17 respectively. Across different sowing dates, significantly higher WUE (13.0, 13.2 kg ha-mm-1), net returns ( 70260, 47209 ha-1) and B:C ratio (2.06, 1.32) were noticed with 4 July (D2) and 1 November (D1) sown crops in kharif 2016 and rabi 2016-17 respectively. Among irrigation schedules, significantly higher net returns ( 61476, 72056 ha-1) and B:C ratio (1.79,1.99) was recorded with I3 (0.8 IW/CPE) and I4 (1.0 IW/CPE) in kharif 2016 and rabi 2016-17 respectively.