Sowing

About: Sowing is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 33888 publications have been published within this topic receiving 273438 citations. The topic is also known as: seeding.

Genotype, sowing date and plant spacing influence on high-yielding irrigated wheat in southern New South Wales. II. Growth, yield and nitrogen use

Abstract: Sowing date, sowing rate and row spacing effects were studied on irrigated wheat crops at Griffith, N.S.W. during 1983-85 using genotypes differing in maturity, stature and genetic background. The aim was to identify better management practices and genotypes through a better understanding of development and growth of wheat grown under high-yielding conditions. Maximum yield was up to 891 g/m2. The average yield reduction was 50 g/m2 or 6% per 1-week delay in anthesis after 1 October, but varied between 2 and 23%, depending on the season. Lodging was a significant problem in all three years, with less lodging for later sowing dates, earlier maturity types or shorter stature. Plant spacing, through variations in row spacing (17-45 cm) or sowing rate (50-200 kg/ha) did not significantly affect grain yields, but lodging was reduced by increased row spacing and reduced sowing rate. Dry weight at anthesis (600-1 500 g/m2) explained 65% of the variation in lodging, with severe lodging risks for weights over 900 g/m2. Harvest index improved with later sowing or earlier maturity and was, among genotypes within a sowing, negatively correlated with anthesis date, height, lodging score and final leaf number on the main stem. Nitrogen uptake usually ceased before anthesis. Genotypic differences in grain protein concentrations of more than 2% were found. Some genotypes combined high yield with high grain protein concentration (e.g. 717 g/m2, 14.1% protein). Significant genotype effects on spike density, kernel weight, kernel growth rate, and number of kernels per m2, per spike and per g chaff weight were identified, but none seemed to restrict yield. There was much compensation between traits. For example, high kernel numbers (per g chaff, spike or m2) were associated with low kernel weights and vice versa, both within and between genotypes. It was concluded that short-stature, early-maturing, low spike-bearing cultivars are most suited to high-yielding conditions from any sowing date, provided flowering occurs after late September, as such crops have a reduced lodging risk and use assimilates and N most efficiently. Genotypes were highly adaptable and many morphogenetic traits differed widely between genotypes, but were usually similar among dwarf or semidwarf, and among early or late maturing genotypes.

Time, Temperature and Germination of Pearl Millet (.Pennisetum typhoides S. & H.)

Abstract: Seeds of pearl millet were germinated on wet filter paper at temperatures up to 50 °C. In one experiment, the temperature was held at 50 °C during imbibition and was then lowered to 32 °C or 25 °C. Germination rate and the maximum fraction of seeds germinating (Gm) both decreased as the time of exposure to 50 °C increased. In contrast, exposure to 50 °C after imbibition for 8 h slowed germination but did not significantly reduce Gm. When the 'high' temperature imposed after imbibition was reduced from 50 °C to 45 °C, there was a small reduction in the rate of germination but not in Gm. The responses have implications for the optimum time of sowing in the tropics when maximum daytime soil temperature at the depth of sowing is in the range of 45-50 °C.

Negative effects of climate warming on maize yield are reversed by the changing of sowing date and cultivar selection in Northeast China.

Abstract: Northeast China (NEC) accounts for about 30% of the nation's maize production in China. In the past three decades, maize yields in NEC have increased under changes in climate, cultivar selection and crop management. It is important to investigate the contribution of these changing factors to the historical yield increases to improve our understanding of how we can ensure increased yields in the future. In this study, we use phenology observations at six sites from 1981 to 2007 to detect trends in sowing dates and length of maize growing period, and then combine these observations with in situ temperature data to determine the trends of thermal time in the maize growing period, as a measure of changes in maize cultivars. The area in the vicinity of these six sites accounts for 30% of NEC's total maize production. The agricultural production systems simulator, APSIM-Maize model, was used to separate the impacts of changes in climate, sowing dates and thermal time requirements on maize phenology and yields. In NEC, sowing dates trended earlier in four of six sites and maturity dates trended later by 4-21 days. Therefore, the period from sowing to maturity ranged from 2 to 38 days longer in 2007 than it was in 1981. Our results indicate that climate trends alone would have led to a negative impact on maize. However, results from the adaptation assessments indicate that earlier sowing dates increased yields by up to 4%, and adoption of longer season cultivars caused a substantial increase in yield ranging from 13% to 38% over the past 27 years. Therefore, earlier sowing dates and introduction of cultivars with higher thermal time requirements in NEC have overcome the negative effects of climate change and turned what would have otherwise been a loss into a significant increase in maize yield.