YIELD AND SOME WATER RELATION OF MAIZE CROP AS INFLUENCED BY IRRIGATION SCHEDULING AND NITROGEN FERTILIZATION RATES AT MIDDLE NORTH NILE DELTA

Abstract

Two field experiments were conducted at Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt during the two successive seasons of 2007 and 2008. The objectives of this research were: (i) to study the effect of irrigation scheduling using three different pan evaporation coefficients on maize yield; (ii) to evaluate the growth, yield and N use efficiency of maize as affected by different rates of N fertilization. The treatments were arranged in a split plot design with four replicates. The main plots were assigned with three irrigation regimes I1, I2and I3 irrigated at 1.2 ,1.0 and 0.8 of accumulation of A.P.E. Five nitrogen rates i.e. zero,60, 90,120 and 150 kg N fed.-1 in the sub plots namely N1, N2, N3 , N4 and N5 . Results showed that 1.2 of A.P.E significantly increased grain yield by 5.4, 8.9% and straw yield by 5.7 , 11.3% compared to irrigation at 1.0, 0.8 of A.P.E. respectively. Also irrigation at 1.2 of A.P.E resulted in higher amount of irrigation water applied to be 3150 m3 /fed distributed on 7 irrigations , followed by irrigation at 1.0 to be 2830 m3 /fed distributed on 6 irrigations , and irrigation at 0.8 of A.P.E. was 2370 m3/fed distributed on 5 ones. The highest consumptive water used was obtained under irrigation with 1.2 pan evaporation coefficient i.e. 2386 m3 .while the lowest 1998 m3 obtained from irrigation at 0.8 of A.P.E.. Lower frequent irrigation due to irrigation at 0.8 of A.P.E. resulted in a significantly increased water productivity compared to the other two irrigation treatments it was 1.260, 1.903 and 1.957 kg/m3 for I1, I2 and I3 respectively Increasing nitrogen rates up to 150 kg N fed.-1 (N5 ) significantly increased grain and straw yield by 69 , 50 ; 11.9 ,22.5 ; 4.7 , 4.7 % as compared to N1 ; N2 ; N3 treatments respectively but not significant with N4 Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) increased with decreasing water applied .It was 77.47 , 79.25 and 80.07 % for I1 , I2 , I3,respectively , and decreased with increasing N rate; 88.1 ,85.7 , 77.4 and 64.5 for N2 ; N3 ; N4 and N5 respectively. Therefore, to increase water productivity and to save irrigation water, it could be recommended to irrigate maize at 1.0 of A.P.E in middle north Nile Delta soils to save water of about 320 m3