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Maize crop yield in function of salinity and mulch1 1 Research developed at Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira, Redenção, CE, Brazil

Produtividade da cultura do milho em função da salinidade e da cobertura morta vegetal

ABSTRACT

Irrigation with saline water affects the agronomic performance of the maize crop; however, the use of vegetal mulch may mitigate salt stress and promote an increase in yield. In this way, this study aimed to evaluate the grain yield of the maize plants submitted to different water salinity levels in the presence and absence of mulch. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial scheme. The first factor was the salinity of the irrigation water (1.0 and 4.0 dS m-1) and the second, with and without mulch, and five replicates. The variables analyzed were: unhusked ear mass, husked ear mass, cob mass, straw mass, husked ear diameter, husked ear length, and yield. The irrigation water with higher electrical conductivity affects negatively the ear mass with and without straw, ear diameter and ear length. The use of vegetation cover on the soil increased the unhusked ear mass with and without straw, ear diameter and length. The water with higher salinity (4.0 dS m-1) reduces the maize grain yield but with less intensity in the presence of mulch.

Key words:
Zea mays L.; salt stress; soil cover

RESUMO

A irrigação com água salina afeta o desempenho agronômico da cultura do milho, no entanto, a utilização de cobertura morta vegetal pode mitigar o estresse salino e promover aumento na produtividade. Desta forma, objetivou-se avaliar a produtividade da cultura do milho submetido a diferentes níveis salinos na água de irrigação, na presença e ausência de cobertura morta vegetal. O delineamento utilizado foi de blocos ao acaso em esquema fatorial 2 × 2, sendo o primeiro fator a salinidade da água de irrigação (1,0 e 4,0 dS m-1) e o segundo, com e sem cobertura morta e cinco repetições. As variáveis analisadas foram: massa da espiga com e sem palha e do sabugo, diâmetro da espiga, comprimento da espiga e a produtividade. A água de irrigação com maior condutividade elétrica afetou negativamente a massa da espiga com e sem palha, diâmetro e comprimento de espiga. O uso de cobertura vegetal no solo aumentou a massa da espiga com e sem palha, diâmetro e comprimento de espiga. A agua de maior salinidade (4,0 dS m-1) reduz a produtividade da cultura do milho, porém com menor intensidade na presença da cobertura vegetal morta.

Palavras-chave:
Zea mays L.; estresse salino; proteção do solo

HIGHLIGHTS:

The use of water with high salinity (4.0 dS m-1) reduced the mass of the ear with and without straw and the diameter of the ear.

Vegetable mulch mitigates the deleterious effects of salts on productivity.

The presence of vegetation mulch increased mass of the ear with and without straw and the diameter of the ear.

Introduction

Maize, also known as corn (Zea mays L.), can be used in human, animal, and bioenergy production (Lopes et al., 2019Lopes, J. R. F.; Dantas, M. P.; Ferreira, F. E. P.; Identificação da influência da pluviometria no rendimento do milho no semiárido brasileiro. Revista Brasileira de Agricultura Irrigada , v.13, p.3610-3618, 2019. https://doi.org/10.7127/RBAI.V13N5001119
https://doi.org/10.7127/RBAI.V13N5001119...
). It is considered moderately tolerant to irrigation with saline water with electrical conductivity of up to 1.7 dS m-1, with no reduction in grain yield (Ayers & Westcot, 1999Ayers, R. S.; Westcot, D. W. A qualidade da água na agricultura. Campina Grande: UFPB. 1999. 153p. Estudos FAO: Irrigation and Drainage Paper, 29 Revisado 1). Thus, investigating and using different varieties of corn that are more tolerant to salinity may promote the better performance of the plant in environments with salt.

Irrigation is a factor that allows achieving maximum production, especially in tropical regions with hot and dry climates, as is the case in the Brazilian Northeastern (Holanda et al., 2016Holanda, J. S.; Amorim, J. R. A.; Ferreira Neto, M.; Holanda, A. C.; Sá, F.V. S. Qualidade da água para irrigação. In: Gheyi, H. R.; Dias, N. da S.; Lacerda, C. F. de; Gomes Filho, E. (eds.). Manejo da salinidade na agricultura: Estudos básicos e aplicados. 2.ed. Fortaleza: Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Salinidade, 2016. p.35-50. ). However, the scarcity of good quality water in this region promotes the use of salty water.

Salt stress causes a reduction in osmotic potential. It results in disturbances in water relations, changes in the absorption and use of essential nutrients (Oliveira et al., 2014Oliveira, F. de A. de; Medeiros, J. F. de; Alves, R. de C.; Linhares, P. S. F.; Medeiros, A. M. A. de; Oliveira, M. K. T. de. Interação entre salinidade da água de irrigação e adubação nitrogenada na cultura da berinjela. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.18, p.480-486, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-43662014000500003
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-4366201400...
), in physiological functions, causing the partial closure of stomata, limiting CO2 assimilation, and reducing photosynthesis, consequently the yield of crops (Taiz et al., 2017Taiz, L.; Zeiger, E.; Moller, I.; Murphy, A. Fisiologia e desenvolvimento vegetal. 7.ed. Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2017. 888p.; Rodrigues et al., 2020Rodrigues, V. dos S.; Bezerra, F. M. L.; Sousa, G. G.; Fiusa, J. N.; Leite, K. N.; Viana, T. V. de A. Produtividade da cultura do milho irrigado com águas salinas. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.24, p.101-105, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n2p101-105
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
).

It is worth mentioning that strategies intended to mitigating salt stress have been tested, including vegetal mulch, a conservationist practice that increases the water storage in the soil and the yield of the crops (Vereecken et al., 2014Vereecken, H.; Huisman, J. A.; Pachepsky, Y.; Montzka, C.; Van Der Kruk, J.; Bogena, H.; Weihermüller, L.; Herbst, M.; Martinez, G.; Vanderborght, J. On the spatio-temporal dynamics of soil moisture at the field scale. Journal of Hydrology, v.516, p.76-96, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.11.061
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.1...
; Carvalho et al., 2018Carvalho, D. F. de; Ribeiro, E. C.; Gomes, D. P. Marketable yield of onion under different irrigation depths, with and without mulch. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.22, p.107-112, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v22n2p107-112
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
). Lessa et al. (2019Lessa, C. I. N.; Oliveira, A. C. N. de; Magalhães, C. L.; Sousa, J. T. M. de; Sousa, G. G. de. Estresse salino, cobertura morta e turno de rega na cultura do sorgo. Revista Brasileira de Agricultura Irrigada, v.13, p.3637-3645, 2019. https://doi.org/10.7127/RBAI.V13N5001122
https://doi.org/10.7127/RBAI.V13N5001122...
), evaluating the use of plant mulch in sorghum plants irrigated with saline waters, also found a positive effect of this practice. Similarly, Barbosa et al. (2021Barbosa, I. J.; Sousa, H. C.; Schneider, F.; Sousa, G. G. de; Lessa, C. I. N.; Sanó, L. Mulch with sugarcane bagasse and bamboo straw attenuates salt stress in cowpea cultivation. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, v.25, p.485-491, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v25n7p485-491
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
) also found that the use of mulch minimized the impact of salts on leaf growth and gas exchange, especially in cowpea plants.

In this way, this study aimed to evaluate the yield of the maize crop submitted to different irrigation water salinity in the presence and absence of mulch.

Material and Methods

The experiment was carried out in an experimental farm belonging to The University for International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB), Redenção, Ceará, Brazil.

The climate of the region is AW-type, characterized as rainy tropical, very warm, with predominant rains in the summer and autumn seasons (Alvares et al., 2013Alvares, C. A.; Stape, J. L.; Sentelhas, P. C.; Gonçalves, J. L. de M.; Sparovek, G. Köppen’s climate classification map for Brazil. Meteorologische Zeitschrift, v.22, p.711-728, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2013/0507
https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2013/0...
).

Figure 1 shows the meteorological data during the period in which the experiment was conducted (July to November 2019).

Figure 1
Mean values of temperature, relative air humidity and precipitation during the experiment

The soil in the experimental area is classified as Ultisol with a soil bulk density of 1.4 kg dm-3, belonging to the sandy-loam texture. The chemical attributes are shown in Table 1.

Table 1
Soil chemical characterization before the application of treatments

The fertilization of the plants was obtained according to Coelho (2006Coelho, A. M. Nutrição e adubação do milho. Sete Lagoas: Embrapa, 2006. 17p.), being 160 kg ha-1 of N, 70 kg ha-1 of P2O5, and 120 kg ha-1 of K2O, respectively. However, the source used was organic through cattle biofertilizer as fertilization in the sowing furrow and goat manure as topdressing fertilization.

The Criolo maize variety was sown manually on July 4, 2019, at a spacing of 1.0 x 0.3 m. Ten days after sowing (DAS), 100% germination was observed; later, thinning was carried out, leaving only one plant per hole.

The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design arranged in a 2 x 2 factorial scheme. The first factor was the salinity of the irrigation water (1.0 and 4.0 dS m-1) and the second, with and without mulch, with five replicates and four plants per experimental unit.

Vegetal mulch from spontaneous plants was used to cover the soil (8 cm layer) at the beginning of the reproductive phase of corn (R1 - this phenological stage begins when the styles-stigmas are visible, out of the ears), this stage is defined by the beginning of the silking and pollination.

The amount of water applied was calculated based on the crop coefficient (Kc) (Doorenbos & Kassam, 1994Doorenbos, J.; Kassam, A. H. Efeito da água no rendimento das culturas. Campina Grande: UFPB , 1994. 306p. Estudos FAO: Irrigação e Drenagem, 33) and reference evapotranspiration (ET0) determined by the evaporation pan method, installed near to the experimental area, with an irrigation frequency of two days.

The electrical conductivities in the irrigation water were obtained by the addition of the salts, NaCl, CaCl2.2H2O, and MgCl2.6H2O, in the equivalent proportion of 7:2:1, in the public supply water (0.5 dS m-1), following the relationship between ECw and its concentration (mmolc L-1 = EC x 10), according to Rhoades et al. (2000Rhoades, J. D.; Kandiah, A.; Mashali, A. M. Uso de águas salinas para produção agrícola. Campina Grande: UFPB . 2000, 117p. Estudos da FAO, Irrigação e Drenagem, 48). For irrigation, drippers were used with a flow rate of 8 L h-1, spaced at 0.30 m, and distribution uniformity coefficient (CUD) around 92%, monitored through tensiometers, set at 20 cm in each experimental unit.

The irrigation time was determined from Eq. 1.

T i = E T c E p E a q 60 (1)

where:

Ti - irrigation time (min);

ETc - evapotranspiration of the crop (mm);

Ep - spacing between drippers;

Ea - water application efficiency (0.9); and,

q - flow rate (L h-1).

For the cover applied before and during the differentiation of treatments, a leaching fraction of 0.15 was added (Ayers & Westcot, 1999Ayers, R. S.; Westcot, D. W. A qualidade da água na agricultura. Campina Grande: UFPB. 1999. 153p. Estudos FAO: Irrigation and Drainage Paper, 29 Revisado 1).

At the end of the maize crop cycle (110 DAS), five plants were harvested from each plot (central rows) and identified. Then, they were put to dry for 15 days in a protected environment until reaching constant mass.

After drying, the following variables were evaluated: ear+husk mass - EHM, ear mass - EM, cob mass - CM, straw mass - SM (measured with a precision scale, expressed in grams); ear diameter - ED, ear length - EL (measured with the aid of a digital caliper, expressed in millimeters), and grain yield - GRY.

The data were submitted to analysis of variance. After verifying significance, the Tukey test was used to compare the means (p ≤ 0.05). The ASSISTAT 7.7 BETA software (Silva & Azevedo, 2016Silva, F. A. S.; Azevedo, C. A. V. The Assistat Software Version 7.7 and its use in the analysis of experimental data. African Journal of Agricultural Research, v.11, p.3733-3740, 2016. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJAR2016.11522
https://doi.org/10.5897/AJAR2016.11522...
) was used in the statistical analysis.

Results and Discussion

According to the analysis of variance (Table 2), there was interaction between the electrical conductivity of the irrigation water (A) and mulch (VM) for grain yield (GRY) at p ≤ 0.01. There was isolated effect for both factors at p ≤ 0.01 for ear+husk mass (EHM), ear diameter (ED), and ear length (EL), and at p ≤ 0.05 for ear mass (EM). There was no significant effect on the cob (CM) and straw (SM) mass.

Table 2
Summary of the analysis of variance for unhusked ear mass (UEM), husked ear mass (HEM), cob mass (CM), straw mass (SM), husked ear diameter (ED), husked ear length (EL) and yield (Y) maize culture in function of salinity and soil mulch

In Figure 2A, it is possible to observe that the ear mass with husk was superior in plants irrigated with low-salinity water (1421 g). However, when the plants were irrigated with high-salinity water (1194.3 g), there was a decrease of 15.95%. This result reflects the impacts caused by the soluble salts present in the irrigation water, which affect the absorption of essential nutrients such as potassium (important in the quality of the ear and consequently in the straw). Rodrigues et al. (2020Rodrigues, V. dos S.; Bezerra, F. M. L.; Sousa, G. G.; Fiusa, J. N.; Leite, K. N.; Viana, T. V. de A. Produtividade da cultura do milho irrigado com águas salinas. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.24, p.101-105, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n2p101-105
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
) evaluated the salt stress in the maize crop under field conditions; in the same edaphoclimatic conditions of their study, they observed a reduction in the ear+husk mass at 110 days after sowing.

Figure 2
Unhusked ear mass as a function of electrical conductivity of water (A) and mulch (B)

The highest values of ear+husk mass were registered in the treatments with vegetal mulch (1437.1 g) concerning the treatments without mulch (1179.3 g), obtaining a reduction of 17.93% (Figure 2B). It is noteworthy that mulch is essential to control soil moisture, thus reducing water evaporation and contributing to water savings (Luís et al., 2020Luís, M. A. S.; Negreiros, M. Z. de; Resende, F. V.; Paulino, R. da C.; Lopes, W. de A. R.; Paiva, L. G. Organic mulch on early garlic cultivars grown under semiarid conditions. Revista Caatinga , v.33, p.412-421, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21252020v33n214rc
https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21252020v33...
). Reinforcing this information about this conservationist practice, Borges et al. (2014Borges, T. K. de S.;Montenegro, A. A. de A.;Santos, T. E. M. dos;Silva, D. D. da;Silva Junior, V. de P. Influência de práticas conservacionistas na umidade do solo e no cultivo do milho (Zea maysL.) em semiárido nordestino. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, v.38, p.1862-1873, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-06832014000600021
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201400...
) registered the same trend when cultivating maize crops.

There was an increase in the values of ear mass in the treatments irrigated with low-salinity water (1116.7 g) in comparison with the treatments irrigated with high-salinity water (698.3 g), showing a reduction of 39.88% (Figure 3A). Probably it is because of the lower concentration of salts in the soil (ECse = 0.52 dS m-1), so the water absorption of the plant is not as impaired as plants that undergo intense salt stress, where there is a reduction in osmotic potential (Taiz et al., 2017Taiz, L.; Zeiger, E.; Moller, I.; Murphy, A. Fisiologia e desenvolvimento vegetal. 7.ed. Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2017. 888p.).

Figure 3
Husked ear mass as a function of electrical conductivity of water (A) and mulch (B)

Likewise, Rodrigues et al. (2020Rodrigues, V. dos S.; Bezerra, F. M. L.; Sousa, G. G.; Fiusa, J. N.; Leite, K. N.; Viana, T. V. de A. Produtividade da cultura do milho irrigado com águas salinas. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.24, p.101-105, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n2p101-105
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
) pointed out a reduction of 33.18% between the extreme salinity values in the maize plants grown under field conditions. Carvalho et al. (2012Carvalho, J. F. de; Tsimpho, C. J.; Silva, Ê. F. de F.; Medeiros, P. R. F. de; Santos, M. H. V. dos; Santos, A. N. dos. Produção e biometria do milho verde irrigado com água salina sob frações de lixiviação. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.16, p.368-374, 2012.https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-43662012000400006
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-4366201200...
) also registered a reduction in the ear mass when irrigated with high-salinity water (3.3 dS m-1) compared with low-salinity water (1.2 dS m-1).

In the presence of the mulch, the plants express the greater value of ear mas (1060 g) concerning the treatment without mulch (755 g), obtaining a reduction of 28.77% (Figure 3B). This result may be related to the positive effect of vegetal mulch in protecting the soil and maintaining its moisture, improving the profitability and quality. Borges et al. (2014Borges, T. K. de S.;Montenegro, A. A. de A.;Santos, T. E. M. dos;Silva, D. D. da;Silva Junior, V. de P. Influência de práticas conservacionistas na umidade do solo e no cultivo do milho (Zea maysL.) em semiárido nordestino. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, v.38, p.1862-1873, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-06832014000600021
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201400...
), analyzing the corn grain yield with the adoption of mulch, showed a trend similar to that of the present study for this variable.

The low-salinity water resulted in a higher ear diameter (30.84 mm) when compared to the high-salinity water (28.6 mm), with a reduction of 7.26% (Figure 4A). It should be noted that salinity affects water absorption, physiological processes, and the yield aspects of crops (Lacerda et al., 2011Lacerda, C. F. de; Sousa, G. G.; Silva, F. L. B.; Guimarães, F. V. A.; Silva, G. L.; Cavalcante, L. F. Soil salinization and maize and cowpea yield in the crop rotation system using saline waters. Engenharia Agrícola, v.31, p.663-675, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-69162011000400005
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-6916201100...
; Sousa et al., 2016Sousa, G. G. de; Viana, T, V. de A.; Silva, G. L.; Dias, C. N.; Azevedo, B. M. de. Interação entre salinidade e biofertilizante de caranguejo na cultura do milho. Magistra, v.28, p.44-53, 2016.).

Figure 4
Husked ear diameter as a function of electrical conductivity of water (A) and mulch (B)

Contrary to these findings, Costa et al. (2015Costa, J. P. N. da; Cavalcante Junior, E. G.; Medeiros, J. F. de; Guedes, R. A. A. Evapotranspiração e rendimento do milho a diferentes lâminas e salinidade da água de irrigação. Irriga, Edição especial, p.74-80, 2015. https://doi.org/10.15809/irriga.2015v1n2p74
https://doi.org/10.15809/irriga.2015v1n2...
) reported that maize yield was not affected by salt stress.

Likewise, Rodrigues et al. (2020Rodrigues, V. dos S.; Bezerra, F. M. L.; Sousa, G. G.; Fiusa, J. N.; Leite, K. N.; Viana, T. V. de A. Produtividade da cultura do milho irrigado com águas salinas. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.24, p.101-105, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n2p101-105
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
) evaluated corn plants under field conditions with salt stress; they did not observe negative interference from the salinity of the irrigation water on the ear diameter.

The presence of mulch increased the ear diameter (31.45 mm) concerning the absence (27.99 mm), registering a reduction of 11% (Figure 4B). The soil protection minimizes the loss of water by evaporation, favoring the increase in the ear diameter. In a study conducted by Borges et al. (2014Borges, T. K. de S.;Montenegro, A. A. de A.;Santos, T. E. M. dos;Silva, D. D. da;Silva Junior, V. de P. Influência de práticas conservacionistas na umidade do solo e no cultivo do milho (Zea maysL.) em semiárido nordestino. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, v.38, p.1862-1873, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-06832014000600021
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201400...
), they found a positive influence of mulch on the ear diameter.

According to Figure 5A, the high-salinity water negatively affected the ear length, obtaining lower mean values (9.18 cm) than the low-salinity water (10.05 cm), with a reduction of 8.56%. This effect can be explained by the fact that salinity inhibits plant growth due to osmotic, toxic effects affecting absorption of essential nutrients and, consequently, yield components (Braz et al., 2019Braz, R. dos S.; Lacerda, C. F. de; Assis Júnior, R. N. de; Ferreira, J. F. da S.; Oliveira, A. C. de; Ribeiro, A. de A. Growth and physiology of maize under water salinity and nitrogen fertilization in two soils. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.23, p.365-370, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v23n12p907-913
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
; Rodrigues et al., 2020Rodrigues, V. dos S.; Bezerra, F. M. L.; Sousa, G. G.; Fiusa, J. N.; Leite, K. N.; Viana, T. V. de A. Produtividade da cultura do milho irrigado com águas salinas. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.24, p.101-105, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n2p101-105
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
).

Figure 5
Husked ear length as a function of electrical conductivity of water (A) and mulch (B)

These same authors did not observe a negative effect of salt stress on the ear length. Figure 5B shows that the treatments with soil cover obtained higher values of ear length (10.02 cm) concerning the absence (9.21 cm), being reduced by 8.08%. Favorato et al. (2016Favorato, L. F.; Souza, J. L.; Galvão, J. C. C.; Souza, C. M. de; Guarconi, R. C.; Balbino, J. M. de S. Crescimento e produtividade do milho-verde sobre diferentes coberturas de solo no sistema plantio direto orgânico. Bragantia, v.75, p.497-506, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4499.549
https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-4499.549...
) studied the crop of green maize in the no-tillage system and obtained results similar to the present study. On the other hand, Borges et al. (2014Borges, T. K. de S.;Montenegro, A. A. de A.;Santos, T. E. M. dos;Silva, D. D. da;Silva Junior, V. de P. Influência de práticas conservacionistas na umidade do solo e no cultivo do milho (Zea maysL.) em semiárido nordestino. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, v.38, p.1862-1873, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-06832014000600021
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-0683201400...
) found no significant effect of mulch on ear length.

Figure 6 shows interaction between irrigation water salinity and soil cover. Irrigation with low-salinity water in the presence of mulch provides the highest grain yield (2766.67 kg ha-1), statistically superior to treatment with high-salinity water (2.400 kg ha-1). Likewise, low-salinity water in the absence of mulch (2.100 kg ha-1) was also statistically superior to high-salinity water (1.253.33 kg ha-1). This low grain yield is possibly associated with the studied variety (Criola) and salt stress; however, it is above the average grain yield of Ceará (1.232 kg ha-1) and below the national average (5.543 kg ha-1) (CONAB, 2021CONAB - COMPANHIA NACIONAL DE ABASTECIMENTO. Acompanhamento da safra brasileira de grãos: Safra 2020/2021. Available on: Available on: https://www.conab.gov.br/info-agro/safras/graos . Accessed on: Jan. 2021.
https://www.conab.gov.br/info-agro/safra...
).

Figure 6
Grain yield of maize plants as a function of electrical conductivity of water on soil with and without mulch

Melo Filho et al. (2017Melo Filho, J. S. de; Véras, M. L. M.; Alves, L. de S.; Silva, T. I. da; Gonçalves, A. C. de M.; Dias, T. J. Hydrical salinity, bovine biofertilizer and dead cover vegetal on production of pitombeira (Talisia esculenta). Scientia Agraria, v.18, p.131-145, 2017. https://doi.org/10.5380/rsa.v18i3.54307
https://doi.org/10.5380/rsa.v18i3.54307...
) reported that soil cover decreases the evaporation of water available to plants, avoiding the increase in salt concentration and promoting depletion of salts in the soil surface and close to the root zone of the plants. It is worth noting that the reduction in grain yield attributed to salt stress may be associated with the metabolic cost of energy and the attempt to adapt to salinity (Lacerda et al., 2011Lacerda, C. F. de; Sousa, G. G.; Silva, F. L. B.; Guimarães, F. V. A.; Silva, G. L.; Cavalcante, L. F. Soil salinization and maize and cowpea yield in the crop rotation system using saline waters. Engenharia Agrícola, v.31, p.663-675, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-69162011000400005
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-6916201100...
; Lima et al., 2020Lima, G. S. de; Lacerda, C. N. de; Soares, L. A. dos A.; Gheyi, H. R.; Araújo, R. H. C. R. Production characteristics of sesame genotypes under different strategies of saline water application. Revista Caatinga, v.33, p.490-499, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21252020v33n221rc
https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21252020v33...
).

Corroborating this study, Rodrigues et al. (2020Rodrigues, V. dos S.; Bezerra, F. M. L.; Sousa, G. G.; Fiusa, J. N.; Leite, K. N.; Viana, T. V. de A. Produtividade da cultura do milho irrigado com águas salinas. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental , v.24, p.101-105, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n2p101-105
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriam...
), investigating the maize crop irrigated with saline water, observed a decrease in grain yield. Feng et al. (2017Feng, G.; Zhang, Z.; Wan, C.; Lu, P.; Bakour, A. Effects of saline water irrigation on soil salinity and yield of summer maize (Zea mays L.) in subsurface drainage system. Agricultural Water Management, v.193, p.205-213, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2017.07.026
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2017.07....
) also registered a similar tendency when they found a reduced grain yield of the maize crop grown with high-salinity water.

Conclusions

  1. The irrigation water with higher electrical conductivity negatively affects the ear+husk mass, ear mass, ear diameter, and ear length.

  2. The use of vegetation cover on the soil increased the ear+husk mass, ear mass, ear diameter, and ear length.

  3. The water with higher salinity (4.0 dS m-1) reduces the productivity of the corn crop but with less intensity in the presence of mulch.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq, Brazil.

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Edited by

Edited by: Hans Raj Gheyi

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    08 Sept 2021
  • Date of issue
    Dec 2021

History

  • Received
    15 Jan 2021
  • Accepted
    31 May 2021
  • Published
    01 July 2021
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