Effect of Water Stress Distributed for Growth Stages on Some Chemical Properties of Maize Seeds (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out in autumn season 2016 in one of the farmers' field on the banks of the Euphrates river in Ramadi on the maize (Abaa5018 Zea mays L), which is a newly derived synthetic variety in Iraqi agriculture, with the goal of studying the effect of two levels of irrigation 75% and 50% of maize with three stages of growth on the production of maize. Seeds were sown on 15/07/2016 and harvested on 14/11/2016, the two levels of irrigation were distributed randomly over the stages of growth and eight coefficients were obtained. The stages of growth included the vegetative stage, which begins from the date of isolation of irrigation coefficients at 1/8 till the onset of emergence of male inflorescence, the flowering stage, which begins with the emergence of male inflorescence until the end of emergence of female inflorescence and then the last stage which begins from the end of second stage till the maturation of seeds. The coefficients of the experiment were randomly distributed and according to randomized complete block design (R.C.B.D). While the irrigation coefficient (T8) which is irrigated by the second level of 50% throughout the season of growth gave the lowest rate for each of leaf area, dry matter, and grain harvest with water consumption of 276 mm. Showed gradation in the production of grain, dry matter and leaf area, according to the distribution of irrigation water over the sensitive stages of growth for each character and are limited between the productions of irrigation coefficients (T1 & T8). They also varied in water consumption, total water requirement and water consumption efficiency. This variation occurred as a result of distribution of irrigation levels over the coefficients according to stages of growth.