Emergence and Seedling Growth of Corn (Zea mays L.) as Influenced by Irrigation Schedules on Vertisols

Abstract

To investigate the effect of irrigation frequency on emergence and seedling growth of maize, a pot experiment was conducted under glass house condition in Ambo University. The experiment was arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications consisting of 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 days interval of watering with 40mm, 80mm, 121.2mm, 160mm, and 200mm of irrigation water, respectively for a period of 30 days. A total of 400mm of water was applied during the 30days period as per treatments. The results revealed that emergence and seedling growth differed significantly under different watering frequencies, where in maximum number of leaves (8 leaves/plant), leaf area (63.75cm2), plant height (31.95cm), root length (23.94cm), shoot length (10.28g), root (8.23g) biomasses, seedling fresh weight (18.51g) and dry weight (2.91g) were observed with 6 days interval of irrigation frequency, while they declined with increased watering interval.