Publications in year 2014

Vol. 21, Issue 4



Physical characteristics and yield of maize grain in rainfed conditions of high valleys of Mexico

International Agrophysics
Year : 2014
Volumen : 21
Issue : 4
Pages : 403 - 414
  PDF 257.77 KB
Authors: María Guadalupe Benítez-Rodríguez1, Rosalba Zepeda-Bautista1, Claudia Hernández-Aguilar2, Juan Virgen-Vargas3, Israel Rojas-Martínez4, Arturo Domínguez-Pacheco1

1National Polytechnic Institute, SEPI-ESIME Zacatenco, Professional Unit ‘Adolfo López Mateos’, Col. Lindavista, México D.F., C.P. 07738, México
2National Polytechnic Institute, SEPI-ESIME “Zacatenco”, Professional Unit ‘Adolfo López Mateos’, Col. Lindavista, México D.F., C.P. 07738, Mexico
3National Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock, INIFAP, Experimental Valley of Mexico. Km 13.5 Highway Los Reyes-Texcoco, Coatlinchan, Texcoco, State of Mexico. C. P. 56250. Mexico
4INIFAP-Tlaxcala Experimental Station, Km. 2.5 Highway Tlaxcala-Santa Ana, Tlaxcala, C.P. 90800, Mexico
Abstract :

In the High Valleys of Mexico maize is produced with varied yield and quality which sometimes do not meet the parameters established by maize flour milling and nixtamalization industry for making tortilla. Therefore, an evaluation of the yields and quality of the grain of maize hybrids (Zea mays L.) and their relationship with the environment was performed. During the spring-summer cycle 2012, the hybrids HP-1, H-52, H-68, HP-2, H-70, Buho, HP-3, H-57E, H-64, Prospecto-1, H-72 and H-66 were evaluated in Texoloc and Benito Juárez (2240 and 2530 masl), Tlaxcala, Mexico in a design of completely randomised blocks with three replications. Grain yield (GY), thousand grain weight (TGW), hectolitric weight (HW), width (WG), length (LG) and thickness (TG) of grains were measured. The results showed highly significant differences (p = 0.01) between locations, hybrids and the interaction locality x hybrids for physical parameters. Among the localities, Texoloc had 86.59% and 24.32% higher GY and TGW compared to Benito Juarez, respectively, while the HW was slightly lower (73.68 kg hL-1). Average yields of the hybrids were 7.7 t ha-1; HP-2, HP-3, H-57E and H-66 hybrids had yields of more than 8 t ha-1 and the lowest yield was noted for H-70. The hybrids had an average HW of 74.30 kg hL-1; HP-1, H-68, H-70, Buho, HP-3 and H-72 had values > 74 kg hL-1, complying with the provisions of the quality standard NMX-FF034/1-SCFI-2002 for maize destined for the nixtamalization process. The variation in agroclimatic conditions between the localities affected the yield and physical quality of maize grain.

Keywords : Zea mays L., thousand grain weight, grain size, hectolitric weight
Language : English