Effect of theremoval of leaves above and below the ear on grain yield and yield components in maize hybrid SC704

To investigate the effect of timing, intensity and position of leaf removal from below and above the ear of maize hybrid SC 704, a field experiment was conductedin 2008 and 2009 in the research filed of the faculty of agriculture of the Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. The experimental treatments included: removal of two and four leaves from above and below of the ear 10, 20 and 30 days after mid-silking stage and control (no leaf removal) which were evaluated in randomized complete block design with four replications. Results showed that in both seasons the highest stem dry weight was obtained from control treatment and the lowest stem dry weight was achieved from removal of four leaves below the earin10 days after mid-silking stage. The highestgrain numberrow-1was achieved from the removal of two leaves above the ear in 20 days after mid-silking, while the lowest grain grain number row-1was obtained from the removal of four leaves below the ear in10 days after mid-silking. In the first year, the heavier1000 grain weight were obtained from both four leaves removal above the ear in 20 days after mid-silking as well as two leaves removal above the ear in 30 days after mid-silking treatment. In the second year, four leaves removal above the ear in 20 days after mid-silking resulted inthe heaviest1000 grain weight. Also, the highest grain yield in the first (12505.5 kg.ha-1) and second seasons (17352.6 kg.ha-1)wereachieved from four leaves removal above the ear 20 days after mid-silking. However, the lowest grain yields for the first (9000.50 kg.ha-1) and second (13992.8 kg.ha-1), were obtained from four leaves removal below the ear in10 days after mid-silking. Therefore, removal of two or four leaves above the ear enhanced grain number.ear-1, mean grain weight and led to higher grain yield in maize hybrid SC704.