Abstract

CERVANTES-ORTIZ, Francisco et al. Silk balling answer to soil moisture and population density in maize lines. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2015, vol.6, n.1, pp.231-241. ISSN 2007-0934.

In order to determine the expression of Silk Balling, of agronomic characters and yield, three elite maize lines were evaluated under different levels of soil moisture and population densities in two different environments: Dolores Hidalgo, Jaral del Progreso and Guanajuato during the spring-summer growing season, 2011. The trial involved three factors: 1) elite maize lines (Prog A, B and C); 2) soil moisture (10, 100 and 190%); and 3) population density (90, 100 and 110 000 plants ha^-1). We used an experimental design of sub-divided plots, with 27 treatments and four replications. The variables evaluated were: percentage of ears with Silk Balling (ESB), severity of injury on the cob by Silk Balling (SBI), plant height and cob, root lodging, prolificacy index, yield grain in field, ear length and volumetric weight of the seed. The results showed statistically significant differences for ESB and SBI for localities, genotypes and soil moisture. For this reason, when the genotypes were subjected to stress due to water deficiency, the expression of Silk Balling increased but reduced the phenotypic expression of the characters left. Furthermore, population density only showed significant effect on grain yield and ear length. Grain yield was stimulated by increasing the sowing density; however, ear length suffered a significant decrease.

Keywords : Silk Balling; inbred lines; sowing density; water stress.

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