Development and Dissemination of Hybrid Maize Seed Production Technology in Nakhon Sawan Province, Thailand

摘要

Studies were conducted to develop technology for NSX 982013 hybrid seed production, and to transfer the technology to farmers. For the study on seed production, the objectives were to determine optimum harvest time for good seed quality, and optimum priming duration of inbred seeds to increase germination, plant stands and seed yield. The experiments were carried out at Nakhon Sawan Field Crops Research Center (NSF-CRC) in 2003 and 2004. Results indicated that optimum harvest time was 45 days after silking, when seed black layer turned dark brown, leaf color changed to pale brown, and seeds had high quality, i.e. germination was 95%～100%, germination after vigor test was 94%～97%, and seed moisture was 18%～27%. Priming female inbred seeds for 12,18 and 24 hours did not improve seed germination, plant stands, plant growth or yield. For transferring seed production technology, in summer 2004 farmers in the village of Mae-Purn sub-district, Nakhon Sawan Province were trained for NSX 98201.3 seed production. Results showed that farmers adopted seed production technologies: Average seed yield was 1028kg per hectare with seed germination of 97%. The farmers were satisfied with plant type and drought tolerance of NSX 982013. All farmers intended to continue producing seed and expected to increase seed yield per area the following year.