PJB-2020-168
GERMINABILITY OF THREE CORN (ZEA MAYS L.) HYBRIDS ON THE VARIATION OF SEED HARVESTING TIME
Ömer Konuşkan
Abstract
Harvesting at asuitable time is a key factor that contributes for getting high seeds’ vigor. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of germination characteristics in early grain stage periods of some maize hybrids. The current study was conducted at the Agricultural Experimental Area of Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey (located at 36015` N and 36030` E), during the year 2016, where corn is growing as the main crop. Three maize hybrids such as ‘Dekalb 6589 (FAO 700)’, ‘Cadiz (FAO 700)’ and ‘Bolson (FAO 600)’ were used as experimental material in this study. For using the seeds of hybrids corn in the present experiment, seeds of the selected hybrids were harvested at 5 days intervals, started from milking (seeds harvesting of all corn hybrids were done at 30 days after tasseling) to physiological maturity stages. After harvesting, the seeds of corn were exposed for germination in plots on 10 April 2016. The size of each plot was 14 m length and 5 m width including plant stand (Intra row: 70 cm, Inter row: 18 cm). Data on 1000 grain weight (1000-GW), electrical conductivity (EC), germination ratio (GR), germination index (GI), accelerating aging test index (AATI), cold test, colt test germination index (CTGI), and cold test germination time (CTGT) significantly varied among the selected varieties or hybrids and different harvesting times. Seed germination characteristics indicated that the lowest dry matter was determined in cultivar ‘Cadiz’, while the highest dry matter was determined in the cultivar ‘Bolson’ at the first harvesting time (after 30 days of tasseling stage). The earliest black layer in the cultivar ‘Cadiz’ was found to be 50 days while other two hybrids it was recorded at 5 days late (55 days). The techniques of the present study related to evaluation seed vigor by estimating and evaluating of germinatination properties may be used in future research as well as farmers' field condition for sustainable corn production in the changing climate.
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