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Population Density of Unirrigated Maize and its Influence Upon Fertilizer Efficiency in Central Mexico
Author(s) -
Miller Eilif V.,
Pitner John B.,
Villa J. Ricardo,
Romo G. Carlos
Publication year - 1950
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1950.036159950014000c0061x
Subject(s) - fertilizer , population density , agronomy , population , plant density , zea mays , environmental science , biology , demography , sowing , sociology
Little has been published regarding the exact population densities which occur in Mexican farmers' fields. The corn varieties are extremely diverse as to type, size of plant, and size of ear (1). Climatic diversity is also great due to variations in altitude and rainfall. Such different conditions may be expected to require different rates of stand. The literature on effects of stand density upon yields of corn has been reviewed by Stringfield and coworkers (6) . Results are cited showing optimum acre populations of 14,250 in Jamaica, 16,518 in Russia, 10,680 in Kentucky, and between 8,900 and 10,680 in Eastern Nebraska. Their experiments in Ohio demonstrated the direct relation of optimum population with expected yield. In experiments on soil with a productive capacity of 80 or 90 bushels, the optimum yields for three common hybrids occurred at about 16,000 plants per acre. Hybrids producing larger plants require 20% less population. Experiments in Tennessee reported in 1920 (3) showed that optimum populations for many varieties vary from about 10,000 per acre on good bottomland to about 5,000 on uplands. Small, short-season varieties required thicker stands. For a given variety of open pollinated corn, the weight of grain per plant at the optimum population is practically constant on lands of widely different levels of fertility. Averaging 17 varieties, the yield per plant at optimum stand was over /2 pound.