Importance of maize Constraints to maize production Basic requirements for maize production Agronomic management practices Harvest and post-harvest management

1. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
S. Meseka
Maize Breeder
Maize improvement program
Iita-ibadan, Nigeria
Maize agronomy for increasing productivity
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

2. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Outline of presentation
• Importance of maize
• Constraints to maize production
• Basic requirements for maize production
• Agronomic management practices
• Harvest and post-harvest management
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

3. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
 The most important cereal crop in sub-Saharan Africa including
Nigeria & staple food for >1.5 billion people (SSA, LAmer & Asia)
 Fresh maize serves as good source of cash, with Nigeria as leading
country in Africa
 Food industry – Nestle, and others
 Feed industry in West Africa including Nigeria
Importance of maize
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

4. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
 Maize production is faced with several challenges:
 The lack of good seed (quality seed vs grain)
 Pests and diseases (Stemborers, Streak, Blights, Rust)
 Weeds including Striga
 Soil degradation and low fertility (Low N, Acid soils, etc)
 The lack of fertilizers & other agro-chemicals
 Lack of funding/ source of loan
Constraints to maize production
Stemborer
Streak
Low Nitrogen
Striga
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

5. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Constraints to maize production
Climatic fluctuations (Drought, Heat, Flood)
 The lack of implements
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

6. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Constraints to maize production
Other constraints
 the lack of labour force
 the lack of good market
 low market value
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

7. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Basic requirements for production
 Know your production environment(s) – rainy forestry,
savannas (northern/southern guinea/Sud. savanna)
 Type of maize seed – OPV/ Hybrid & source
 Optimum time of planting & management practices
 Other inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides) & source
 The use (home consumption) and market (local/ regional)
Storage facility
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

8. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Basic requirements for production
 Rainfall - quantity, distribution and duration
 enough total annual rainfall to support crop: planting – harvest
Relative humidity – low RH at harvest time for good quality grains
Soils – fertile and well drained soils give good yields
Site selection - crucial for the success of maize production
 accessibility into the farm/ field – input & product transportation
 avoid sandy areas, steep slopes, fields planted to maize previously
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

9. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Agronomic management practices
 Land preparations
 Important determinant of yield
 good land preparations ensures soil aeration, moisture holding capacity
 poor land preparation can lead to soil erosion, high weed population
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

10. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Germination test using plastic bowls
Seed Germination Tests
Agronomic management practices
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

11. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Agronomic management practices
 Planting time/ sowing date – essential management tool
 decline in yield can be attributed to very early / late planting
 plant at optimum time when rains are stable
 Method of planting - row planting
 hand hoe
 bamboo peg
 Jack planter
 Plant populations
 spacing between rows (75 – 80 cm)
 spacing between hills (25 – 50 cm)
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

12. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Maize Morphology
Agronomic management practices
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

13. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Agronomic management practices
 Weeds control – good weed is essential for high grain yield
 Weeds compete with maize crop for sunlight, nutrients, water, space
 Hand weeding is expensive; – pre- & post-emergency herbicides
Timely weeding
Weeds & droughtTime to weed
No weeding & Fertilizer
Late weeding
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

14. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Agronomic management practices
 Fertilizer application
 maize plant must be supplied with adequate nutrients (NPK)
 5 bags of compound fertilizer (NPK 15:15:15) at planting/ 2 WAP
 3 bags of urea (N) 5-6 WAP as top-dressing
UREA
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

15. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Agronomic management practices
 Pest & Disease control
 Maize steak virus (MSV)
 Leaf blight
 Rust
 Downy mildew
 Stemborer (Best, phrynx, etc)
Use of resistant varieties/ hybrids
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

16. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org
Harvest and post-harvest management
Harvest - optimum time when stem have dried and grain moisture 20%
 Also determined by black sport at the base of kernel
 Threshing - important for cleaning, sorting and grading
 Storage – transitional period - market
Implementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016

17. A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.orgImplementer Induction training 16 – 18/3/2016