Evaluation of Crop Yield and Water Productivity of Different Hybrids of Maize with Drip-Tape Irrigation

Increasing water productivity in agricultural sector is necessary, since this sector is the largest consumer of water in Iran. Because of higher irrigation efficiency, in particular, the reduction of losses of deep percolation and evaporation from the soil surface, drip-tape system is a good option for irrigation. Additionally, using varieties of a crop having high yield is another way to increase water productivity. The objective of this study is to investigate the crop yield and irrigation water volume and to estimate the physical and economical water productivity for different hybrids of maize by drip-tape irrigation. Field experiments were conducted at the research farm of the Agricultural and Natural Resources College of the University of Tehran, in Karaj in 2017. The treatments were nine hybrids of maize (BK42, KSC400, KSC260, BK65, KSC600, BK50, BK74, Barekat3 and KSC704). The results of this study showed that the type of hybrid had a significant effect on crop yield and water productivity. Generally, among the examined varieties, the BK65 hybrid had the highest biomass production (19.54 ton/ha) and biomass water productivity (3.43 kg/m3), and the lowest yield (10.55 ton/ha) and grain water productivity (1.62 kg/m3). Additionally, the KSC600 hybrid had the highest grain yield (13.86 ton/ha) and grain water productivity (2.12 kg/m3) compared to other hybrids. The reason for the high biological performance of BK65 hybrid compared to other hybrids was the higher growth of vegetative part related to reproductive part. The BK42 and KSC260 hybrids had the lowest yield and productivity.