Rainfed yield of grain maize under two agroecological environments in Malaysia.

There a two main classes of land in Malaysia that are available and suitable for medium to large scale cultivation of grain maize. The first comprises rainfed paddy areas on riverrine alluvia such as terraces and flood plains where maize can b grown in the off-season. The second category consists of the inland forest areas which have not yet been turned into plantations. Production in both environments are, however, constrained by factors peculiar to each of them. The rainfed paddy areas have features conducive to rice cultivation, i.e., high water table, compact subsoil or presence of plough pan and prone to waterlogging, all of which are adverse to maize growth. The inland soils, on the other hand, are well-drained and generally posses better physical properties. Still, their acidic nature and somewhat more compact subsurface horizons have been found to hinder root growth and ultimately crop yield. The freely draining nature of these soils coupled with their low surface water detention also increases the risk of water stress. This study evaluates the production of grain maize, cv. Suwan 1, at two sites representing the above environments using the basic drop growth model in combination with the water balance module for impeded drainage (SAWAH). Factors examined include yield variability and influence of water table, soil depth and soil types. Comparison between simulated rainfed yield and actual yield for the paddy environment showed good agreement in five seasons out of six where the simulated yield on sandy clay loam soil overlying a clay loam in the presence of a 1.5 m deep water table ranged from 3234 kg ha-1 to 5249 kg ha -1 against observed yields of 4253-4966 kg ha-1. The simulated yield for non-water limiting conditions ranged between 6338 and 7073 kg ha-1.

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