Triple-row system with a wider drip-line lateral spacing for two drip-irrigated sweet corn cultivars

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of both single- and triple-row production systems in two drip-irrigated sweet corn cultivars under dry Mediterranean climate conditions. A two-year field experiment (2017 and 2018) was carried out in clay loam soil. The following three combinations spacing between crop rows and drip-line lateral spacing, with three replicates for each cultivar, were applied: single rows at 75 cm spacing, with one drip-line lateral spacing for each crop row; single rows at 75 cm row spacing, with one drip-line lateral spacing for three crop rows; and triple rows, 37.5 cm apart, on 225 cm centers, with one drip-line lateral spacing for each triple row. The responses of both cultivars were similar. In addition, husked cob yield and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) significantly reduced as the drip-line lateral spacing increased in single rows. Yield loss was 35.2% in relation to the 75 cm spacing. However, when the triple-row system with 225 cm drip-line lateral spacing was adopted, yield and IWUE were noticeably improved, and the yield loss was moderated to 16%, due to the improvement in soil water conditions in the triple rows. For improved yield and IWUE, the combination of triple rows with the 225-cm drip-line lateral spacing is an efficient drip-irrigated planting pattern for sweet corn production in dry Mediterranean climate conditions.

Caracterização e produtividade de cultivares de milho doce em fileiras duplas sob diferentes espaçamentos entre plantas

“…Portanto, o maior espaçamento utilizado nesta pesquisa proporcionou um incremento na produção de grãos de 53% em relação à menor produtividade obtida em áreas com o espaçamento de 20 cm (Figura 3). Diversos pesquisadores ratificam que diferentes arranjos populacionais de plantas podem gerar maior incremento na produtividade de grãos da cultura do milho (CALONEGO et al, 2011;FUMAGALLI et al, 2017;MUBARAK et al, 2020). Os pesquisadores afirmam que há uma relação delicada entre o número de plantas ideal por área a fim de maximizar a produtividade de grãos de milho, e que maiores espaçamentos entre plantas tendem a favorecer o crescimento da cultura, com plantas mais vigorosas e produtivas.…”