held in Chieng Khoi for 2010, due to a drought occuring immediately after the onset
of the wet season at end of June. These unfavorable growth conditions resulted in
delayed shoot development among the maize plants, as well as delayed development of Panicum maximum and Arachis pintoi. As a result, maize cobs were only
party filled or remained empty during the generative stage, leading to grain yield
reduction in the case of farmers’ practices by 42 %, in Arachis pintoi by 65 % and in
Panicum maximum by 56 %. Remarkable in this context was the behavior of the
relay cropping treatment, which not only outperformed farmers’ practices in 2010
by 0.89 Mg ha
À1 (+25 %), but was able to reach a maize grain yield similar to 2009,
showing only a moderate yield reduction of 17 % in 2010 despite the drought stress
experienced.
Fig. 7.6 Maize grain yields
(Mg ha
À1
) for the period
2003–2005 at Ban Bo Muang
Noi, Thailand, as affected by
fertilizer application
(a: unfertilized, b: fertilized)
and soil conservation
technology; (c) Maize grain
yields (Mg ha
À1
) as affected
by SCT in 2009 and 2010 in
Chieng Khoi, Vietnam (Note:
MT refers to minimum
tillage)
246
T. Hilger et al.
of the wet season at end of June. These unfavorable growth conditions resulted in
delayed shoot development among the maize plants, as well as delayed development of Panicum maximum and Arachis pintoi. As a result, maize cobs were only
party filled or remained empty during the generative stage, leading to grain yield
reduction in the case of farmers’ practices by 42 %, in Arachis pintoi by 65 % and in
Panicum maximum by 56 %. Remarkable in this context was the behavior of the
relay cropping treatment, which not only outperformed farmers’ practices in 2010
by 0.89 Mg ha
À1 (+25 %), but was able to reach a maize grain yield similar to 2009,
showing only a moderate yield reduction of 17 % in 2010 despite the drought stress
experienced.
Fig. 7.6 Maize grain yields
(Mg ha
À1
) for the period
2003–2005 at Ban Bo Muang
Noi, Thailand, as affected by
fertilizer application
(a: unfertilized, b: fertilized)
and soil conservation
technology; (c) Maize grain
yields (Mg ha
À1
) as affected
by SCT in 2009 and 2010 in
Chieng Khoi, Vietnam (Note:
MT refers to minimum
tillage)
246
T. Hilger et al.