Evaluation of Physiological Responses of Maize Hybrids to different Nitrogen levels in Kerman Province, Iran

Nitrogen is one of the most abundant elements on earth and major essential for crop growth and development that is heavily used in modern agriculture to maximize yields. Among cereals, maize (Zea mays L.) is an important food and feed crop which ranks third after wheat and rice in the world. As N fertilizer costs remain relatively high and environmental concerns over excessive N application increase, the objectives of the present study were: (i) to compare maize hybrids growth and yield responses to N rates, (ii) to determine optimum N rate for maize grain yield production, (iii) to explore the physiological functions controlling maize growth and yield and (iv) to identify more effective physiological indices in maize grain production under N stress as well as potential condition.
Two field experiments were conducted in 2014 and 2015 at the Experimental Field of Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, Kerman, Iran. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design with factorial arrangement of treatments and three replications. Four nitrogen rates (0, 92, 220 and 368 kg N ha-1) were applied to three maize hybrids (KSC 704, Maxima and TWC 604). Statistical analysis was done using SAS software (version 9.4).
Due to a significant lack of homogeneity of variance across the two years, data from the two years were treated as independent experiments and analyzed separately. Results showed that both N rates and hybrids had significant effect on growth indices and maize grain yield. The interaction between genotype and N rate was significant for grain yield in 2015 (P In this study, maize grain yield increased with N application up to 368 kg ha-1. However an economic evaluation is essential in order to optimum N fertilizer recommendation. LAI and LAID were known as key indices in maize grain yield formation. Nitrogen stress decreased maize grain yield mainly by reduction in LAI and LAID. Significant yield benefits were observed in KSC 704 and maxima compared to TWC 604 in both N stress and potential conditions.