Produtividade de milho não irrigado no oeste de Santa Catarina

Abstract

Currently in Brazil and in Santa Catarina, there is a growing market demand for corn primarily due to the animal production chain, while the occurrence of climatic adversities has caused a decrease in crop productivity and consequently a reduction in the state's corn supply. Therefore, it is essential to generate technical knowledge that promotes corn productivity in Santa Catarina. Thus, this research aims to evaluate the agronomic performance of two hybrid cultivars and two open-pollinated varieties, grown without irrigation. Variables such as plant height, leaf area index, accumulated dry matter on the soil, yield, number of ears per plant, harvest index, and rainfall were analyzed. The experiment was conducted in the experimental area of UFFS Chapecó campus, in the 2021/22 summer season. The experimental design employed was a randomized complete block design, with four treatments and four replications, totaling 16 plots. All collected data were subjected to Analysis of Variance and Tukey's test with a significance level of 5% using the Sisvar software. The open-pollinated varieties did not differ from the simple corn hybrids, except for variables such as plant height (higher for open-pollinated varieties) and number of ears per plant (higher for simple hybrids). The water stress observed in the 2021/22 season similarly affected grain yield in both open-pollinated varieties and simple corn hybrids.