Grain Quality of Maize Cultivars as a Function of Planting Dates, Irrigation and Nitrogen Stress: A Case Study from Semiarid Conditions of Iran

Maryam Rahimi Jahangirlou, Gholam Abbas Akbari, Iraj Alahdadi, Saeid Soufizadeh and David Parsons
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Maryam Rahimi Jahangirlou: Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Sciences, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Pakdasht 1417466191, Iran
Gholam Abbas Akbari: Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Sciences, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Pakdasht 1417466191, Iran
Iraj Alahdadi: Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Sciences, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Pakdasht 1417466191, Iran
Saeid Soufizadeh: Department of Agroecology, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran P.O. Box 19835-196, Iran
David Parsons: Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 90183 Umeå, Sweden

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Maize grain is an important source of human and animal feed, and its quality can be affected by management practices and climatic conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the concentration and composition of starch, protein and oil in grain of maize cultivars in response to different planting dates (20 June and 21 July), irrigation (12-day and 6-day intervals) and nitrogen rates (0 and 184 kg N ha −1 ). The first two principal components (PCs) accounted for 84.5% of the total variation. High N fertilization increased protein (by 6.0 and 10.9 g kg −1 ) and total nonessential amino acids (by 3.4 and 2.4 g kg −1 ) during 2018 and 2019, respectively. With the high irrigation rate, the high N rate increased oil, total unsaturated fatty acids, and starch and amylopectin, whereas with the low irrigation rate, there was no effect of the N rate. With earlier planting, total saturated fatty acids were higher. The findings highlight the complicated relationship between the different factors and how they affect quality characteristics of maize grain. There was a large impact of year, which to a great extent cannot be controlled, even in this environment where water supply was controlled and rainfall did not affect the results.

Keywords: amino acids; fatty acids; oil; protein; starch; Zea mays L. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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