OPTIMIZING MAIZE SOWING WINDOWS FOR IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY UNDER THE AGRO-CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF MOHMAND AGENCY, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of different varieties of maize sown on different time under the agro-climatic conditions of Mohmand Agency Ghazi Beg Kaly FATA (Federal Administrated Tribal Area) during summer 2015. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) having three replications and ten maize varieties including open pollinated and hybrids i.e. Iqbal, Azam, Jalal, Babar, SB-989, SB-909, SB-292, CS-200, CS-220, and W-888. The crops was grown on five sowing dates i.e. 1 June, 10 June, 22 July, 3 July and 13 July. Data on plant height, biological yield and grain yield were recorded the results showed that there were significant variations in yield among different varieties as well as different time. It was noted that early sowing significantly affected all parameters. Tallest plant (259 cm), maximum biological yield (35874 kg ha-1) and maximum grain yield (4937 kg ha-1 ) were recorded when the crop was grown on June 1. Early sowing is recommended for obtaining higher grain yield. In case of varieties, SB-909 produced maximum grain yield of 4666 kg ha-1. Based on the results, it was concluded that grown early (First week of June) performed better under the agro-climatic condition of Mohmand Agency while delayed sowing may not be suitable.