Evaluation of the yield performance of maize cultivars (Zea mays L.) in a Semi-Arid Region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

• Hovedforfatter: Mxolisi Mtyobile (Author)
• Format: Bog
• Udgivet: International Journal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology - Peertechz Publications, 2021-10-26.
• Fag: Research Article
• Online adgang: Connect to this object online.

<p>Maize is considered as one of the important grain crop in the world. Maize is in high demand within district because it is one of the staple food and also used for animal feed. Current yield attained by small scale farmers is lower than the potential of our existing varieties. In field experiment at Njizweni situated in Gqeleni sub-district was conducted in November 2018 to evaluate the agronomic and yield performance maize cultivars in a semi-arid environment. Plant population, plant height, leaf area, number of cobs/plant, cob length, number of grains per cob, 100 grain weight and number of cobs were significantly different (p<0.05) between cultivars. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) on maize grain yield although maximum number of cobs per plant (1.76) was recorded on PAN 6R-710BR, PAN5R-591R, BG 5285 and WE 6208B.</p>