Knowledge Center Catalog

Characterization of drought stress in the major maize production zones of Kenya

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublication details: Mexico, DF (Mexico) CIMMYT : 1997ISBN:
  • 968-6923-93-4
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 633.153 EDM
Summary: Maize, the most important cereal crop in Kenya, is grown from sea level to more than 2300 m elevation. With the use of geographic information system (GIS) techniques, six distinct maize agro- climatic zones have been defined for the main rainy season in Kenya. The objective of this study was to characterize each of these zones for the degree and timing of drought stress. For each of the six maize zones, two representative sites with extensive weather records were used. Long term means for rainfall for 10 d periods were compared to the potential evapotranspiration of the same period at each site. Maize phenological development was superimposed on these data. In the highland and moist transitional zones, which comprise 75% of the maize area, drought occurrences were limited. The moist midaltitude zone had the greatest variability in moisture stress between sites, and late season drought is consistently a problem. The dry midaltitude and dry transitional zones experience the most severe drought, especially during grain filling and early in the season. In the lowland tropics, significant moisture stress occurs during the first 20 d of the season and during the last 40 d of growth. These data suggest that drought tolerance is needed for germplasm being developed for four of the six zones.
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
Star ratings
    Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Conference proceedings CIMMYT Knowledge Center: John Woolston Library CIMMYT Publications Collection 633.153 EDM (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available G624179
Total holds: 0

Maize, the most important cereal crop in Kenya, is grown from sea level to more than 2300 m elevation. With the use of geographic information system (GIS) techniques, six distinct maize agro- climatic zones have been defined for the main rainy season in Kenya. The objective of this study was to characterize each of these zones for the degree and timing of drought stress. For each of the six maize zones, two representative sites with extensive weather records were used. Long term means for rainfall for 10 d periods were compared to the potential evapotranspiration of the same period at each site. Maize phenological development was superimposed on these data. In the highland and moist transitional zones, which comprise 75% of the maize area, drought occurrences were limited. The moist midaltitude zone had the greatest variability in moisture stress between sites, and late season drought is consistently a problem. The dry midaltitude and dry transitional zones experience the most severe drought, especially during grain filling and early in the season. In the lowland tropics, significant moisture stress occurs during the first 20 d of the season and during the last 40 d of growth. These data suggest that drought tolerance is needed for germplasm being developed for four of the six zones.

English

9801|AGRIS 9702|anterior|R97-98PROCE|FINAL9798

Jose Juan Caballero

CIMMYT Publications Collection


International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) © Copyright 2021.
Carretera México-Veracruz. Km. 45, El Batán, Texcoco, México, C.P. 56237.
If you have any question, please contact us at
CIMMYT-Knowledge-Center@cgiar.org