Changes in Growth and Yield of Maize Grown in the Glasshouse

Upcoming increase in global warming is potential threat to crop production, which necessitates determining responses of crops to cope with this ever-increasing adversary. This study focused on the responses of two differentially heat tolerant maize (Zea mays L.) varieties Sadaf (heat tolerant) and Agatti-2002 (heat sensitive) to glasshouse condition at three growth stages across spring and autumn seasons (by keeping the plants inside the glass canopies). Results revealed that growth and yield responses of maize varieties were quite differential across the seasons and treatments, which was evident from the interactions of varieties and treatment present in one season and disappeared in the other. Among the growth attributes, silking and grain filling stages during spring season were more sensitive to glasshouse effect as most the interactions of varieties and treatments were evident for various growth attributes. Although glasshouse condition diminished all the studies growth and yield characteristics, most explicit changes were noted in shoot dry mass and leaf area per plant at all growth stages. Among the cob and seed yield characteristics, glasshouse condition was more damaging to grain yield per cob and plant especially during spring season. To conclude, increased temperature inside the canopy during later stages of spring sown crop was the main reason for reduced growth and yield of maize. © 2010 Friends Science Publishers