Maize is one of the dry land crops grown in a rice-based cropping system. However, its productivity has been often limited by major management constraints focusing on cultivars and cultural management. A series of field studies have been conducted since 1998 to study the productivity of maize grown after rice. It was found that maize grown after rice showed more income and profit as compared to the second rice. The best planting time for maize after rice was from November to December. After harvesting rice the land was plowed, harrowed and fertilized with 50-62.5-0 kg of N-P2O5-K2O ha-1. Hybrid seeds mainly from single cross hybrids were planted with 0.75 x 0.20 m spacing with 1 plant hill-1 (66,666 plants ha-1). Three weeks after planting, urea (46-0-0) at the rate of 156 kg ha-1 was applied as a top-dressing fertilizer. To increase maize production in the paddy field, it was necessary to provide adequate water as applied by furrow-irrigation for its growth. The results also show that the yields of maize under recommended practices were generally greater than those of the farmers' ones. It is rather obvious that maize after rice may be one of the alternatives cropping systems for rice farmers to intensify cropping on their lands during a dry season in Thailand.

English

0501|AGRIS 0501|AL-Maize Program

Juan Carlos Mendieta

CIMMYT Publications Collection