Abd El- Latif, Kh.M.; N.G. Ainer; T.A.A. Eid and E.A.M. Osman( 2017). Effect of Irrigation and Mulching Practices on Maize Crop and Some Water RelationsAnnals of Agric. Sci., Moshtohor ISSN 1110-0419 Vol. 55(4) (2017), 1027 – 1036
Abstract: The experiments were conducted at the experimental farm of Giza Agricultural Research Station, Egypt, during the summer seasons of 2014 and 2015 to study the effect of three irrigation regimes (I1 = Irrigation at 25-30%, I2 = 50-55%, and I3 = 75-80%) of available soil moisture depletion (ASMD) and three mulching treatments (white plastic film mulch, PFM; rice straw mulch, RSM; and no mulching, NM) on maize (Zea mays L.) productivity, water consumptive use, irrigation water applied, water utilization efficiency, and net income. A split plot design with three replicates was used. The most important results can be summarized as follows:
The highest values of the irrigation water applied (IWA), were found to be 3451 and 3444 m3/fed for the (I1) treatment in both growing seasons, respectively. Water consumptive use (WCU) was increased in the case of more frequent irrigation as in 25-30% (ASMD) than the other two irrigation treatments. Also, average water use efficiency (WUE) increased by using 25-30% of (I1) with plastic mulch and recorded (1.64 kg/m3), followed by 50-55% with plastic mulch (1.59kg/m3), and 75-80% (ASMD) treatments with plastic mulch (1.42 kg/m3) in both seasons. The maximum values of water utilization efficiency (WUtE), were 1.06 and 1.12 kg /m-3 in 2014 and 2015 seasons, respectively, and were obtained from (I2) 50-55% with plastic mulch treatments compared with rice straw and no mulching treatments in both seasons. The highest significant values of ear diameter (cm), ear length (cm),100-grain weight (g), and grain yield of maize were obtained when irrigation was done at 25-30% (ASMD) compared with the other 50-55% and 75-80% (ASMD) treatments in both seasons. Mulching with plastic gave the highest significant values of ear length and diameter (cm) as well as 100-grain weight (g) and grain yield of maize compared without mulching in both seasons. Also, results revealed that the highest significant values of ear length and diameter (cm) as well as 100-grain weight (g) and grain yield of maize were obtained by I1 (25 -30%) with plastic mulching treatment in both seasons. The highest net return of (3726 LE/fed.) and (3100 LE/fed.) were found for the 25-30% (ASMD) application with plastic or straw mulch. Thus, the study reveals that irrigating at 25-30% (ASMD) with mulch has an explicit role in increasing the yield and net return of maize.
Keywords: (irrigation, available soil moisture depletion, mulching, maize , water relations .)
