EFFECTS OF SEED SIZE, SEED POSITION ON THE PARENT COB AND PARENTAL COB SIZE ON THE LEAF AREA OF MAIZE UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS

摘要

Three field experiments were conducted, one in the South-West of France and two in the Beauce area. The first experiment compared populations of the maize hybrid, cv. Furio grown from seeds which had been sorted twice: (i) according to the length of the original ear and (ii) according to whether they were located at the base, middle or tip of the ear. The second experiment compared two seed grades of the cv. Dea using seeds sown at four different densities. The third experiment compared three seed grades of the cvs. Dea, LG2287 and Birdy sown at two different densities. Leaf area was measured weekly from emergence until flowering in each experiment. Seeds from the base of long ears grew into plants with a larger leaf area than seeds from the middle and tip. Leaf area per plant was over 50 cm(2) greater in plants grown from large seeds and this difference remained constant throughout the period studied: i.e. it was large in relative terms in young plants and became negligible as the plants matured. Plants grown from large seeds developed earlier than plants from small seeds at all stages from emergence until flowering. The effects of seed grading on these characters were approximately the same for all cultivars.