IMPROVEMENT OF WATER-STRESSED MAIZE GROWTH AND YIELD BY PARTITIONING OF PHOSPHORUS FERTILIZER

Abstract

Abstract: A field experiment was carried out at Alsaqlwiyah town/fallujah/AL-Anbar Governorate, on a clay sandy soil to study partitioning of phosphatic fertilizer and water stress on growth and product characteristic of maize (Zea mays L.). The treatment combinations were two levels of phosphorous fertilizer, one dose and three doses application with three levels of water stress, non – stressed, stress at early growth and stress at flowering initiation stage arranged with factorial experiment using R.C.B.D design with three replicates. The results concluded that phosphorous doses significantly increased leaf area and individual plant yield. Water stress significantly decreased leaf area, plant height, individual plant yield and 100 grain weight. The application of three doses of phosphorus was superior than one dose. The plants that underwent water stress at early growth stage were more impacted than been at flowering stage. It could be concluded that phosphorus had potentiality to increase stressed-crop yield, whereas the initiation of phosphorus partitioning three times X water stress at pre-flowering improved individual crop yield 191.5 gm more than one time without partitioning X early water stress 182 gm.The integrated management of maize is very important to tolerate stressed environment, because of being difficult to apply phosphorus incorporatedly into soil, due to loss large accounts soil fixation and lowering of plant uptake.Therefore,it has to partition with plant growth stages to increase its efficiency. That is necessary to assist increase of extracting of latent abilities of processes which had important role for increasing water economics, production and productivity. These will emphasize properly scientific decisions for managing these operations.