Nitrogen response of maize under temporary flooding

Abstract

The adverse effect of temporary flooding on maize (Zea mays L.) yields and the nitrogen management required to mitigate the effect of flooding were studied for five years in field experiments on Choa sandy loam soil.

Maize yields decreased with increase in duration of flooding and with decrease in the age of the crop at the time of flooding. Flooding periods exceeding 48 hours caused significant crop damage. The loss in yield on account of flooding was, however, less in 40-day old crops. A 24 hours flooding decreased grain yield by 17.7 and 3.9 per cent in 20-day and 40-day old crops respectively. Maximum yield loss amounted to 1.23 t ha⁻¹ of grains with 72 hours of flooding of 20-day old crop indicating that a younger crop is more prone to the deleterious effect of flooding.

The nitrogen content of grains decreased significantly with increase in flooding period. A supplemental dose of 7 kg N ha⁻¹ as urea spray significantly increased grain yield. Soil application of supplemental nitrogen at the rate of 14 or 20 kg N ha⁻¹ enhanced the maize yield by 0.7 to 0.9 t ha⁻¹ under temporary flooded conditions. Spraying with urea solution increased nitrogen removed by the crop.

Successive increments of 60 kg N ha⁻¹ gave an additional yields of 1.23, 1.01 and 0.41 t ha⁻¹ over the crop that received no nitrogen. Flooded maize responded to even higher rates of N fertilization than the dose of 120 kg N ha⁻¹ which is recommended in this region.