Enhancing Food and Livelihood Security of Highland Temperate Rainfed Ecologies Using Improved Maize Cultivars

Abstract

In temperate mountain agro-ecologies of India, cultivation of landraces and farmer’s varieties using traditional methods is the main reason for low productivity of maize in potential niches. Painstaking efforts made at Mountain Crop Research Station, Sagam during kharif  2008 and 2009 resulted in two modern, high yielding maize composites viz., Shalimar Maize Composite 3 (SMC-3) and Shalimar Maize Composite 5 (SMC-5) with all the traits liked by the resource poor and marginal farmers. SMC-3 and SMC-5 showed grain yield superiority of 10.5 and 14.8% over the best commercial check (C15) and 42.9 and 48.7% superiority over local check, respectively. SMC-3 variety also resulted in 6.6% and 49.65% increase in stover yield over commercial check (C15) and local check, respectively. On the otherhand, SMC-5 showed 12.3 and 58.31% superiority in stover yield over commercial check and local check, respectively. Thus, both these varieties gave higher net returns and B:C ratio vis-a-vis check. Further, they showed moderate resistance against Turcicum leaf blight and common rust and resistance to stem borer, blue beetle and aphids. Application of 100% recommended dose of fertilizers long spacing of 60×20 cm² can be recommended as it resulted in significantly higher grain yield. SMC-5 contained elevated levels of tryptophan (20%), lysine (46%) and sugar contents (16%) over commercial check. The mass adoption of farmer preferred and reasonably priced, high yielding composite varieties can give a boost to maize productivity and profitability.