Growth and productivity of several hybrid maize varieties on alluvial soil of Madura in dry season

Abstract

Although the productivity is very low, maize cultivation on Madura island still uses the local varieties. Considering this situation a field assessment was carried out in Larangan Slampar Village Tlanakan District Pamekasan Regency from May to August 2017. The study was aimed to determine the performance of several national hybrid maize varieties that especially released by the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD). The experiment was arranged in a randomized completely block design with three replications. The treatments were five superior varieties of the IAARD namely Bima 9, Bima 14, Bima 16, Bima 20, and HJ 21, and one local variety of Madura as a control. The result showed that new varieties tested especially Bima 9 and Bima 14 gave the best performance and significantly different to local variety in some agronomic parameters namely plant height, width and length of leaves and yield. Almost of all agronomic parameters had a positive correlation to the yield. The yield was increased up to 483.87% and the benefit up to 555,67 % than local variety. Based on this research and by the choosing of local farmers, both varieties were recommended as a specific location varieties in dry season planting time.