PERFORMANCE OF MAIZE CROSSES UNDER LATE PLANTING CONDITION

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance of seven white maize hybrids under late planting condition with respect to yield and grain quality during the two successive seasons of 2017 and 2018. The experimental design was laid out using randomized complete block design with four replicates. Maize hybrids were significantly differed in all traits studied in both seasons, except grain oil percentage. The variety S.C 128 exhibited the highest days to maturity, while the lowest ones was T.W.C 321 in both seasons as compared with other tested hybrids. The variety T.W.C 321 significantly surpassed other tested hybrids in mean values of grain yield /fed and relative grain yielding ability, while T.W.C 324 and T.W.C 329 gave the lowest mean values in both seasons. Concerning grain quality, S.C 131 and S.C 2031 recorded the highest mean values of oil yield/fed, Meanwhile, T.W.C 321 and S.C 2031 surpassed the other hybrids in mean values of protein percentage and protein yield/fed in the both seasons. It could be summarized that the best hybrid was T.W.C 321 when planting maize in late sowing, where it produced grain yield more than other S.C 131, S.C 2031, S.C 10, S.C 128, T.W.C 324 and T.W.C 329 hybrids by 2.74, 3.08, 4.85, 4.89, 21.40 and 24.96%, respectively as an average of both seasons.