Evaluation of silage and grain yield of different maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes in organic and conventional conditions

Abstract

The intensification of agriculture is closely linked to high emissions of greenhouse gases. To address the challenges, the European Commission published the European Green Deal in 2019. The aim of our study was to compare the yield of maize genotypes bred in Martonvásár in three different cropping environments (organic, irrigated conventional, and non-irrigated conventional). The silage and grain yields of different maize hybrids and parental lines were evaluated in a three-replicate small plot experiments. The green mass yield of the organic area was 19 and 15% lower compared to the irrigated conventional and non-irrigated conventional treatments. The dry matter yield of the maize hybrids was 12.9 t ha-1 in the organic area, 15.7 t ha-1 in the irrigated, and 15.8 t ha-1 in the non-irrigated environment. Hybrids had significantly better grain yield in the conventional systems (irrigated: 10.0 t ha-1 and non-irrigated: 9.8 t ha-1) than in the organic environment (7.6 t ha-1). The difference in yield results was not as considerable for the parental lines as for the hybrids. In addition, our results indicated high presence of heterosis for yields. The heterosis of the grain yields was two times higher than for silage yields. Heterosis was highest at the non-irrigated conventional area.

Keywords

• conventional agriculture
• grain yield
• maize genotypes
• organic farming
• silage yield