Investigating of maize (Zea mays L.) adaptation to cold dry season cultivation

Abstract

The availability and accessibility of maize throughout the year involves the development of strategies to enable its production in any period in Burkina Faso. This study aimed to identify the morphological and agronomic parameters of maize varieties affected by the cold dry season climate. The experiment was conducted at the Farako-Bâ station during the wet and cold dry seasons of 2015. Genetic material, including lines, hybrids, intermediate, extra-early and early composites were investigated. The experimental design was randomized complete block with three repetitions. Results showed that emergence, total number of leaves, male and female flowering, anthesis-silking interval, number of primary branches, ear weight and height growth were affected by cold. Cold occurring in dry season increased male and female flowering and anthesis-silking interval by 5% to 226%. However, for the majority of other traits, cold reduced their mean values by 3.21% to 65.25%. Based on the agromorphological parameters, hybrid varieties and extra-early and early composites appear to be less influenced by the cold. FBC6 was identified as the most tolerant to the effect of cold, while B73, SR22, Espoir, Wari and Bondofa were moderately tolerant. These results provide a basis for the development of high-performance varieties adapted to all growing seasons.