Abstract
Zea mays L. presents socioeconomic and cultural importance for the Northeast region of Brazil, its yield is directly related to the productive system, to the edaphoclimatic conditions and to the soil management. The aim of this work was to evaluate the development and the yield of maize under different nitrogen doses in rainfed conditions in the Brazilian semiarid. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four treatments and five replications, totalizing 20 experimental plots, with 24 plants each. The treatments were: T1 (0 kg ha-1 of N); T2 (40 kg ha-1 of N); T3 (60 kg ha-1 of N) and T4 (80 kg ha-1 of N). Were evaluated: plant height, culm diameter and number of leaves at 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days after emergence; leaf temperature, stomatal conductance, transpiration, liquid photosynthesis and intercellular carbon concentration at 65 days after emergence; yield, shoot dry mass and nitrogen content in the soil after harvest. The different nitrogen doses significantly influenced the plant height, culm diameter and the number of leaves in the different evaluation periods, also influencing the nitrogen levels in the soil after the harvest. There was no difference among treatments for the yield, the registered average was 5,205 kg ha-1. The development of the crop and the nitrogen absorption may have been influenced by the water deficit during the crop cycle. The maize presented better agronomic performance with the dose of 60 kg ha-1 of nitrogen.
Highlights
Agricultural production systems, in terms of area and socio-economic importance, are prominent throughout the world
In the 2016/2017 harvest, maize cultivation in Brazil was performed in an area of 16.1 million hectares, with the Northeast region being responsible for 11.72% of this total area, and the state of Paraíba with participation of 8.4 million hectares (CONAB, 2017)
From the summary of the analyses of variance by the mean square (Table 1), it was verified that for the variable average height of plants, there was significant difference only at 30 days after emergency (DAE); for the remaining evaluated periods, 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAE there was no significant difference among the treatments
Summary
Agricultural production systems, in terms of area and socio-economic importance, are prominent throughout the world. The maize (Zea mays L.) presents a great importance among the cultivated species, being part of the human and animal food chain, due to its grain yield and forage production, being one of the most produced inputs in Brazil and in the world (Souza et al, 2012; Custódio et al, 2016; USDA, 2018). The management of soil fertility is of great importance in order to achieve higher productivity (Santos et al, 2014; Lins et al, 2017). Researches on maize that consider the local climatic conditions and production systems are necessary in order to demonstrate to the farmers the importance of the adequate nutritional management in obtaining high yields. Based on the foregoing, the aim of this work was to analyze the development of maize (Zea mays L.) under different doses of nitrogen, cultivated under rainfed conditions in the Brazilian semiarid
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