The Optimal Cultivar × Sowing Date × Plant Density for Grain Yield and Resource Use Efficiency of Summer Maize in the Northern Huang–Huai–Hai Plain of China
Lichao Zhai,
Lihua Zhang,
Haipo Yao,
Mengjing Zheng,
Bo Ming,
Ruizhi Xie,
Jingting Zhang,
Xiuling Jia,
Junjie Ji
Affiliations
Lichao Zhai
Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science/Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation Physiology and Green Production of Hebei Province/Scientific observing and Experimental Station of Crop Cultivation in the North China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shijiazhuang 050035, China
Lihua Zhang
Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science/Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation Physiology and Green Production of Hebei Province/Scientific observing and Experimental Station of Crop Cultivation in the North China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shijiazhuang 050035, China
Haipo Yao
Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science/Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation Physiology and Green Production of Hebei Province/Scientific observing and Experimental Station of Crop Cultivation in the North China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shijiazhuang 050035, China
Mengjing Zheng
Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science/Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation Physiology and Green Production of Hebei Province/Scientific observing and Experimental Station of Crop Cultivation in the North China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shijiazhuang 050035, China
Bo Ming
Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100081, China
Ruizhi Xie
Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100081, China
Jingting Zhang
Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science/Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation Physiology and Green Production of Hebei Province/Scientific observing and Experimental Station of Crop Cultivation in the North China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shijiazhuang 050035, China
Xiuling Jia
Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science/Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation Physiology and Green Production of Hebei Province/Scientific observing and Experimental Station of Crop Cultivation in the North China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shijiazhuang 050035, China
Junjie Ji
Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Science/Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation Physiology and Green Production of Hebei Province/Scientific observing and Experimental Station of Crop Cultivation in the North China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shijiazhuang 050035, China
In order to explore the optimal cultivar × sowing date × plant density for summer maize (Zea mays L.) in the Northern Huang–Huai–Hai (HHH) Plain of China, field experiments were conducted over two consecutive years (2018–2019) on a loam soil in the Northern HHH Plain. A split–split plot design was employed in this study, and the main plots included three cultivars (HM1: early-maturing cultivar; ZD958: medium-maturing cultivar; DH605: late-maturing cultivar); subplots consisted of three sowing dates (SD1: June 10; SD2: June 17; SD3: June 24); sub-sub plots include two plant densities (PD1: 6.75 × 104 plants ha−1; PD2: 8.25 × 104 plants ha−1). The results showed that the effects of cultivar and plant density on grain yield of summer maize were not significant, and the sowing date was the major factor affecting the grain yield. Delayed sowing significantly decreased the grain yield of summer maize, this was due mainly to the reduced kernel weight, which is associated with the lower post-anthesis dry matter accumulation. Moreover, radiation use efficiency (RUE), temperature use efficiency (TUE), and water use efficiency (WUE) were significantly affected by cultivar, sowing date, and plant density. Selecting early- and medium-maturing cultivars was beneficial to the improvements in RUE and TUE, and plants grown at earlier sowing with higher plant density increased the RUE and TUE. The interactive analysis of cultivar × sowing date × plant density showed that the optimum grain yields of all tested cultivars were observed at SD1-PD2, and the optimum RUE and TUE for HM1, ZD958, and DH605 were observed at SD1-PD2, SD2-PD2, and SD2-PD2, respectively. The differences in the optimum grain yield, RUE, and TUE among the tested cultivars were not significant. These results suggested that plants grown at earlier sowing with reasonable dense planting had benefits of grain yield and resource use efficiency. In order to adapt to mechanized grain harvesting, early-maturing cultivar with lower grain moisture at harvest would be the better choice. Therefore, adopting early-maturing cultivars grown with earlier sowing with reasonably higher plant density would be the optimal planting pattern for summer maize production in the Northern HHH Plain of China in future.
