Abstract
Maize (Zea mays) is one of Pakistan’s most important cereal crops and is widely used both for human consumption and for livestock feed. Seed germination, its morphological growth and yield depends on irrigation sequence. Rainfall is the only source of irrigation in Potohar region, Rawalpindi which mainly restrained sustainable agricultural practices. Therefore, a study was planned to investigate the effect of different irrigation frequencies (1-day, 3-days and 5-days interval) on germination and early growth of maize at Koont research station, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi during 2019 and 2020 crop seasons. The results elucidated that the continuous application of enough moisture via irrigation in 3-day interval enhance relatively higher (50%) percentage of germination followed by one day interval (43.75%). The enough moisture at five-day interval enhanced germination performance (68.75%). No significance effect was found on number of maize seedlings emergence while a considerable variation was observed on their emergence date, that the early emergence of maize seeds was enhanced in 1-day interval. As irrigation frequency decreased from 1 to 5 days interval, seedling emergence was delayed significantly (p<0.05). This indicated that a continuous application of enough water to the soil and maintaining soil moisture enhance the emergence of maize seeds to be takes placed earlier.
Highlights
The pots were arranged in greenhouse under Completely Randomized Design (CRD) arrangement with four replications
The effects of irrigation frequencies on germination and early growths of maize seeds were observed under different irrigation frequencies
As irrigation frequency decreased from 1 to 5-days interval, seedling emergence was delayed significantly (P
Summary
Irrigation artificial application of water to the soil for agricultural production purposes. It's generally considered when there are alleged rained crop production issues. Rainfall may vary from year to year, or rain starts and stops may be uncertain the rainy season itself may be a time of drought (Noor et al, 2019a). Water is vital for irrigation purposes, but its extra judicial use can lead to scarcity and to crop yields and soil degradation. Ensuring that it is implemented as efficiently as possible to achieve sustainability. Maize production increased with a combination of deep tillage and a good system of irrigation
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