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Maize Variety Selection for Drought Prone Soil
In contrast to the other very dry year 2018, in which it became very dry from mid-June, the worst drought this year occurred from the beginning of July. As a result, there was still sufficient moisture present during the so-called shooter phase. The shooter stage is the growth stage between the 6-leaf stage and panicle formation. As a result, maize has grown to a length that we are used to from maize on most plots.
However, the severe drought in July and August resulted in insufficiently good cod development on drought-sensitive plots. The very high temperatures in August and September that followed gave the final blow to maize, causing a lot of maize to become shriveled and in some cases harvested as early as August. A relatively large residual plant mass in combination with a low proportion of cob after harvesting of this maize is then the cause of the less good nutritional value.
Choose drought-tolerant maize varieties in 2023
KWS has been researching the drought tolerance of maize varieties for years. Selection for this is of course best done under dry growing conditions. Possibly due to climate change, four of the past five growing seasons have been dry to very dry. What a practicing grower is obviously less happy with, the breeders of maize varieties have been able to take advantage of this. In the Benelux, the trial field experience, but also the experience in practice, especially for the maize varieties NEVO (very early, FAO 180), GENIALIS (early, FAO 230), ARTURELLO (mid-early, FAO 240) en CAMILLO (mid-early, FAO 250) delivered positive results. Positive experience in the sense of a significantly higher yield, nutritional value and residual plant health.
In addition to choice of variety, cultivation management is decisive
Recent dry growing seasons have shown that irrigation makes a difference. Irrespective of whether irrigation is used, good soil fertility improves water storage capacity, among other things. This means that maize gets through this period just a little easier in dry growing seasons and produces a better result. In addition, supplementary fertilization with potassium results in more vital maize, so that the crop is less likely to be subject to drought stress. Because the growing seasons are becoming drier on average as a result of climate change, adjusting the sowing density is also a good measure. Fewer plants per hectare simply need less moisture.
Would you like more information about growing maize under dry growing conditions? Then contact us.
