International Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension

Vol. 5(1), pp. 197-202, February, 2019. © www.premierpublishers.org. ISSN: 2167-0432

Research Article

Genetic Variability and Morphological Diversity of Open-

Pollinated Maize (Zea mays L.) Varieties under the Effect
of Potassium Fertilization
Sadullah N. AL-NIEMI1; Shukri I. REKANI2* and Fatih Abid Sied HASSN3
1,3College of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Soil Sciences and Water Resources, University of Mosul, Iraq
2Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Farm experiment was conducted in summer of 2007 at the bank of the upper Zab river in Deraluk
sub-district (43º.64'.48'' E) and (37º.85'.31'' N), Duhok province, Iraq. Ten varieties of maize were
used to study the impact of K fertilization on growth, forage and grain yield of different maize
genotypes and to make comparison among the given genotypes. Generally, there is no significant
response of the genotypes to K fertilization. There was differentiation between the genotypes in
most studied parameters, although the response was not significant, that’s mean existence of
variation in efficiency of K uptake and utilization among the genotypes.
Key words: fertilization, maize, potassium.

INTRODUCTION
Maize is the 3rd most important cereal crop after wheat and
rice in world (Tollenaar and Dwyer 1999). It is a crop of
worldwide importance whose grain used primarily in the
food and feed industries or as silage for feeding animals or
as a substrate for biogas stations. Maize grown for green
fodder is a short-duration crop and is ready for harvesting
in about 8-10 weeks after sowing. This crop can be grown
under irrigated areas with wide range of climate (Rashid
and Iqbal, 2012). Corn production in Iraq saw a sharp
declined between 2006 and 2014 due to an erratic supply
of irrigation water. The lack of adequate water supply
discouraged farmers to adopt “thirsty” summer crops such
as corn. Currently, Iraq requires about 300,000 metric tons
some areas around Baghdad, the richest agricultural
towns, before government forces halted its advancement.
Most of Iraq's production of cereal crops (strategic crops
such as corn, wheat and barley) depends on the provinces
of Nineveh, Kirkuk and Diyala, given the vast agricultural
areas and rainfall there. The average potassium
concentration of the earth’s crust is 23 g kg-1. The most
important potassium natural bearing minerals in soils are
alkali feldspars, muscovite, biotite, and illite, from which K+
is released by weathering and which feed plants.
Exchangeable K+ ranges between 40 and about 400 mg K
kg-1 soil and even more. Concentrations of <100 mg K kg-
1 are often in the deficiency range; concentrations between

of corn per year to satisfy the feed consumption of its 100 and 250 mg K kg-1soil are in the range of sufficiently
growing poultry sector. In 2010, Iraq produced 150,000 to well supplied soils (Barker and Pilbeam, 2007, and Al-
metric tons of corn, but imported the other 150,000 metric Niemi, 2011).
tons to meet the feed consumption requirement (USAID,
2011). Iraqi Minister of Agriculture said “Iraq lost 40% of its
agricultural production capacity after the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syrian (ISIS) took control of the most productive *Corresponding Author: Shukri I. REKANI, Ministry of
provinces”. He said the Ministry of Agriculture “had hoped Agriculture and Water Resources, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
to achieve self-sufficiency and to announce it officially at Email: Shukri_reakany@yahoo.com; Tel: 00964750
the end of this year”, but security conditions brought the 4500970.
sector back to the square one. In June 2014, ISIS took Co-Author Email: 1sadullah_alniemi@yahoo.com; Tel:
3
control over Ninevah province and expanded toward the 009647703067464; fatihabd85@gmail.com; Tel:
provinces of Salahaddin, Kirkuk, Diyala and Anbar and 009647703041959

Genetic Variability and Morphological Diversity of Open-Pollinated Maize (Zea mays L.) Varieties under the Effect of Potassium Fertilization
Rekani et al. 198

K is the second most abundant mineral nutrient in plants MATERIALS AND METHODS
after N. It is 4–6 times more abundant than the
macronutrients P, Ca, Mg and S. K is absorbed as a Land preparation and experimental design
monovalent cation K+ and it is mobile in the phloem tissue
of the plants (Roy et al., 2006). Abundant amounts of K are Farm experiment was conducted in a private farm in the
required by most plants. However, its uptake by plants is summer of 2007 at the bank of the upper Zab river in
significantly affected by soil moisture content, which Deraluk sub-district (43º.64'.48'' E) and (37º.85'.31'' N),
affects rates of root growth and of K diffusion from soil to Duhok province, Iraq. The farm was abandoned
the root. Hence, K uptake efficiency is rather low in dry- (uncultivated) for more than 20 years. A soil sample from
land regions. Thus, it becomes a major limiting factor for the plow layer (0.0-0.3 m) has been taken for the chemical
attaining optimal crop yield and quality (Ge et al., 2012). and physical analysis (table-1). The field was plowed twice
Potassium plays a vital role in: photosynthesis, horizontally and vertically then divided into 60 plots 3x3 m
translocation of photosynthates, protein synthesis, control with inter-plot spacing 1.5 m. The experiment layout was
of ionic balance, regulation of plant stomata and water use, arranged as a factorial based on randomized complete
activation of plant enzymes and, many other processes block design (RCBD) with 3 replicates. Ten varieties of
(Marschner, 1995; Maathuis and Sanders, 1996; Reddya maize mentioned below (as registered in agricultural
et al., 2004; Roy et al., 2006). Despite acting as an researches office in Duhok) were used; three seeds of
essential macronutrient, K serves as a primary osmoticum each variety were sown in holes within rows including inter-
to maintain turgor in plants, particularly under stressful hole spacing of 30 cm and inter-row spacing of 1.5 m. The
environments. Therefore, for plants growing in drought net number of plants was 45 (5 rows each row contains 9
conditions, accumulating abundant K+ in their tissues may plants) plants per plot after thinning.
play an important role in water uptake along a soil–plant 1. Gambair 707.
gradient. (Glenn et al.,1996; Cakmak, 2005; Barker and D. 2. Variety Pakistan.
J. Pilbeam 2007). The accumulation and release of 3. Th97AII91-122.
potassium by stomatal guard cells lead to changes in their 4. Th1A1059A Coss-8848.
turgor, resulting in stomatal opening and closing (Fischer 5. Th97AII32-13X14.
and Hsiao, 1968). In water stressed plants, increased 6. Th90A1040Tlat pzapan-8848.
abscisic acid (ABA) levels are known to stimulate the 7. Pakistan.
release of potassium from guard cells, giving rise to 8. Gambair.
stomatal closure (Assmann and Shimazaki, 1999). 9. American popcorn.
Numerous studies have shown that the application of K 10. Babylon popcorn.
fertilizer mitigates the adverse effects of drought on plant
growth (Andersen et al., 1992; Sangakkara et al., 2001) Table 1: Physiochemical properties of top soil sample (0 –
and others (el-Fouly et al., 1991; Tariq et al., 2011) 0.3m).
illustrated yield increment with application of K fertilizers, 1 Electrical conductivity EC (ds m -1) 1:1 0.33
while Mozaffari et al. (2006) found no yield increment in extract
the soil had K levels regarded a medium and optimum. The 2 Soil pH from 1:1 extract 7.90
K efficiency (capacity of a genotype to grow and yield well
3 Total Calcium carbonate(g kg-1) 110.50
in soils low in K availability) was described as the
4 Organic matter (g Kg-1) 22.60
proportion of yield potential that can be achieved under K
deficiency stress (Damon and Rengel 2007; Damon et al. 5 Sand (g Kg-1) 271.00
2007). Crop genotypes with the capacity to take up 6 Silt (g Kg-1) 335.00
relatively more K where availability was low have been 7 Clay (g Kg-1) 395.00
identified together with those that produce a relatively 8 Soil texture Clay loam
large biomass per unit of K taken up where K availability in 9 Available N (mg Kg-1 soil) 61.10
the soil is low. A positive correlation was found between K 10 Available P (mg Kg-1 soil) 18.00
utilization efficiency at low available K and relative shoot 11 Available K (mg Kg-1 soil) 280.00
dry weight (shoot dry weight at deficient/adequate K 12 dissolved Ca2+ (meq L-1) 1:1 extract 2.80
supply) at the tillering stage of rice plant (Yang et al., 13 dissolved Mg2+ (meq L-1) 1:1 extract 0.40
2003). Considerable variation in efficiency of K uptake and 14 dissolved Na+ (meq L-1) 1:1 extract 0.82
utilization has been identified among maize genotypes 15 dissolved K+ (meq L-1) 1:1 extract 1.53
(Farina et al. 1983; Aslam et al., 2013). This study had 16 dissolved Cl- (meq L-1) 1:1 extract 1.20
come to appreciate the impact of K fertilization and maize 17 dissolved HCO3- (meq L-1) 1:1 extract 0.66
varieties on growth of, forage and grain yield of different
maize genotypes and to make comparison among the
given genotypes to identify the K efficient genotypes.

Genetic Variability and Morphological Diversity of Open-Pollinated Maize (Zea mays L.) Varieties under the Effect of Potassium Fertilization
 Int. J. Agric. Educ. Ext. 199

Table 2: Effect of the potassium fertilization and maize varieties on growth of corn.
Total shoot fresh weight Fresh weight of ear+
Plant height (cm) Root fresh weight (g)
varieties (g) shelter (g)
+K -K varieties +K -K varieties +K -K varieties +K -K varieties
Gambair 707 206.66 156.33 181.49 944.66 515.00 729.83 108.33 95.66 101.99 374.66 178.66 281.16
Variety Pakistan 189.33 258.00 223.66 824.33 1519.00 1171.66 108.33 78.66 93.49 643.33 363.33 503.33
Th97AII91-122 208.33 265.33 236.83 1496.33 1680.00 1588.16 77.33 101.00 89.16 639.33 755.00 697.16
Th1A1059A 264.00 293.66 278.83 1476.33 1577.66 1526.99 35.00 86.00 60.50 697.66 723.66 710.66
Coss-8848
Th97AII32- 272.00 269.33 270.66 1396.00 1526.33 1461.16 84.33 68.00 76.16 682.33 663.66 672.99
13X14
Th90A1040Tla 251.66 271.33 261.49 1327.66 1431.00 1379.33 145.66 84.00 114.83 604.66 674.33 639.49
t pzapan-8848
Pakistan 250.00 261.66 255.83 1756.66 1183.00 1469.83 208.00 122.00 165.00 855.66 512.00 683.83
Gambair 251.66 268.33 259.99 1182.66 1378.00 1280.33 328.00 265.00 296.50 556.00 455.66 505.83
American pop 233.33 220.00 226.66 734.00 956.66 845.33 201.00 203.00 202.00 310.66 332.00 321.33
corn
Babylon pop 252.33 257.66 254.99 1170.66 1239.66 1205.16 161.00 124.33 142.66 580.66 869.00 724.83
corn
Means 237.93 252.16 1231.00 1301.00 145.69 122.76 594.49 553.63
LSD(0.05) 10.39 131.50 34.51 94.50
fertilization
LSD(0.05) 23.22 294.1 77.17 211.20
varieties
LSD(0.05) 32.84 416.0 109.13 298.70
fertilization X
varieties

Crop fertilization and management RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The rate of 320 kg N ha-1 of nitrogen fertilizer as NPK
(18:18:18) plus urea 46% was used in two equal doses,
the first dose was at sowing and the second a month after
sowing. A basal rate of phosphorus fertilizer was 200 kg
P2O5 ha-1 as NPK (18:18:18) plus superphosphate 46%
P2O5. In the case of potassium fertilizer which is the object
of this study, two levels were used (0 and 140 kg K 2O ha-
1) of NPK (18:18:18 for fertilized treatments). All fertilizers
were added in furrows of 10 cm depth and distance of 10
cm adjacent the plant rows. The crop management
services were regularly on progress with using of surface
Irrigation.
Crop harvesting and sampling
The crops were harvested at maturity stage at 105 days
after sowing. The plants from the whole plot were removed
for calculation of the grain yield. Three plants from the
middle of the plot were selected for measuring the shoot
parameters. One plant from the middle has been chosen
and the volume of 50 cm l. X 50 cm w. X30 cm depth of
root system excavated and washed over the sieve to
calculate the root weights.
Statistical analysis
The treatment means were compared by determining the
least significant difference (LSD) at 5% level of probability
P =0.05) using statistical analysis software SAS (2002).
Because the difficulty of repeating genotypes name and
to make easy we will give each genotype the number of
its arrangement as mentioned in materials and methods.
Plants height
Generally, the results of plants height (table-2) showed a
significant increment about 5.98% of non- fertilized
treatments (-K) compared to fertilized (+K). The genotype
(4) had the highest value of 278.83cm among the others,
while the lowest was for the genotype (1) which had a
height of 181.49 cm. With regard to the interaction
between genotypes and fertilization, the treatment (-K) of
the genotype (4) had the greatest height of 293.66 cm,
whilst the lowest one was the treatment (-K) of the
genotype (1) having a height of 156.33 cm.
Shoot fresh weight
No significant differences found between the mean values
of the fresh weight of shoots in both (+K) and (-K)
treatments (table-2), in spite of non-significant superiority
of (-K) treatments about 6.69% in general. The greatest
fresh weight of shoots found with the genotype (3) having
a weight of 1588.16 g and the lowest weight (729.83 g)
was that of genotype (1). The treatment (+K) of the
genotype (7) had the highest fresh weight of 1756.66 g and
the lowest (515.00 g) was for (-k) treatment of the
genotype (1).

Genetic Variability and Morphological Diversity of Open-Pollinated Maize (Zea mays L.) Varieties under the Effect of Potassium Fertilization
Rekani et al. 200

Table 3: Effect of the potassium fertilization maize variety on yield and yield components of corn.
No. of ears Fresh ear weight (g) Air dry seed weight (g) Grain yield (kg ha-1)
varieties
+K -K varieties +K -K varieties +K -K varieties +K -K varieties
Gambair 707 1.33 1.00 1.16 191.00 90.00 140.75 68.66 27.00 47.83 1907.00 749.66 1328.33
Variety Pakistan 1.66 2.00 1.83 306.33 246.00 276.16 159.33 111.66 135.49 4425.33 3101.33 3763.33
Th97AII91-122 2.00 2.33 2.16 397.00 455.66 426.33 248.33 246.66 247.49 6897.66 6851.66 6874.66
Th1A1059A 2.00 2.33 2.16 417.66 404.33 410.99 219.66 214.33 216.99 6101.66 5953.33 6027.49
Coss-8848
Th97AII32- 2.00 2.00 2.00 435.00 367.33 401.66 211.33 207.33 209.33 5870.00 5758.66 5814.33
13X14
Th90A1040Tlat 2.00 2.00 2.00 363.00 318.00 340.50 194.66 169.00 181.83 5407.00 4694.00 5050.50
pzapan-8848
Pakistan 2.33 2.00 2.16 423.66 305.33 364.49 145.33 130.00 137.66 4036.66 3610.66 3823.66
Gambair 2.33 2.00 2.16 333.66 308.00 320.83 148.33 132.33 140.33 4119.66 3675.66 3897.66
American pop 2.00 2.00 2.00 195.66 178.33 186.99 88.33 83.00 85.66 2888.33 2305.00 2596.66
corn
Babylon pop 2.00 2.00 2.00 135.66 259.00 197.33 137.00 125.00 131.00 3805.00 3472.00 3638.50
corn
Means 1.99 1.93 319.86 293.19 162.09 144.63 4545.83 4017.19
LSD(0.05) 0.20 41.60 21.78 600.50
fertilization
LSD(0.05) 0.46 93.10 48.69 1342.70
varieties
LSD(0.05) 0.64 131.70 68.86 1898.80
fertilization X
varieties

Root fresh weight showed a significant performance of the genotypes (3, 4,

Generally, the results of root fresh weight (table-2) showed
a significant increment about 18.68% of fertilized (+K)
compared to non-fertilized treatments (-K). The genotype
(8) had the highest fresh root weight (296.50 g), moreover,
the treatment (+K) of the mentioned genotype had the
greatest fresh root weight (328.00g) among others. In
contrast, the genotype (4) had the lowest root fresh weight
(60.50 g) among all genotypes and had the lowest value
at the (+K) treatment (35.00 g).
Fresh weight of (ear+ shelter)
In general, there is no significant difference found between
the mean values of the fresh weight of (ear+ shelter) in
both (+K) and (-K) treatments (table-2), in spite of
numerical superiority of (+K) treatments about 7.38%.
Further results showed a predominance of the genotype
(10) having a fresh weight of 724.83 g and the (-K)
treatment of this genotype had a greatest fresh weight
(896.00 g) compared to others. The lowest fresh weight of
(ear+ shelter) was that of the genotype (1) which gave a
weight of 281.16g along with giving a weight of 178.66 g
with (-K) treatment.
Number of ears
In the same context of fresh weight of (ear+ shelter), there
was no significant difference found between the mean
values of the number of ears in both (+K) and (-K)
treatments (table-3), in spite of numerical superiority of
(+K) treatments about 3.12%. Furthermore, results
7 and 8) compared to genotype (1), but non- significant
with genotypes (2, 5, 6, 9, and 10). The interaction
between genotype and fertilization showed superiority of
genotypes (7 and 8) at (+K) treatments and genotypeS (3
and 4) at (–K) with number of ears of 2.33 over the others,
while the lowest number of ears (1.00) was for genotype
(1) at (-K) treatment.
Fresh weight of the ear
The results (table- 3) showed no significant differences
between the fresh weight of ears in both (+K) and (-K)
treatments, in spite of the numerical performance of (+K)
treatments about 9.10%. The greatest fresh weight of ears
found with the genotype (3) having a weight of 426.33 g
and the lowest weight (140.75 g) was that of genotype (1).
The treatment (-K) of the genotype (3) had the highest
fresh weight of 455.45 g and the lowest (90.00 g) was for
(-k) treatment of the genotype (1).
Air dry weight of seeds
The same results of fresh weight of ears showed with the
air dry weight of seeds. The numerical performance of (+K)
over (-K) treatments was about 12.07%. The air dry weight
for genotype (3) was 247.49 g, while the weight for
genotype (1) was 47.83 g. In case of the interaction
between fertilization and genotypes, the results showed
that the treatment (+K) of the genotype (3) had the highest
fresh weight of 248.33 g and the lowest (27.00 g) was for
(-k) treatment of the genotype (1).

Genetic Variability and Morphological Diversity of Open-Pollinated Maize (Zea mays L.) Varieties under the Effect of Potassium Fertilization

Grain yield
Generally, in spite of non-significant superiority, the results
of the table-3 showed a performance of the (+K)
treatments with the ratio of 13.16% over the (-K)
treatments. The greatest grain yield found with the
genotype (3) having a weight of 6874.66 kg ha-1 and the
lowest weight (1328.33 kg ha-1) was that of genotype (1).
The treatment (+K) of the genotype (3) had the highest
yield of 6897.66 kg ha-1 and the lowest yield (749.66 kg ha-
1) was for (-k) treatment of the genotype (1).
Overall the results if we give the genotype which has the
highest value for each measured parameter the number
10 and give the genotype of the lowest value the number
1. After collection of the total scored numbers by a given
genotype for all measured parameters we can rank:
The genotype as 4>3>5>7>6>8>10>2>9>1, the (+K)
treatments as 5>4>7>3>8>6>2=10>9> and the (-K)
treatments as 3>4>6=5>8>10>7>2>9>1.
Generally, there is no significant response of the
genotypes to K fertilization; this may due to the high starter
soil content of potassium and full supplement of irrigation.
These results are in agreement with that’s of Mozaffari et
al. (2006) those who found no significant response of two
corn cultivars at two sites in the soil had K levels regarded
a medium and optimum. There is a difference between the
genotypes in most studied parameters, although the
response was not significant, this may owe to the variation
in efficiency of K uptake and utilization among the
genotypes. These results go along with that’s of Farina et
al. (1983) and Aslam et al. (2013).
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Accepted 22 October 2018

Citation: Al-Niemi SN, Rekani SI, Hassn FAS (2019).

Genetic Variability and Morphological Diversity of Open-
Pollinated Maize (Zea mays L.) Varieties under the Effect
of Potassium Fertilization. International Journal of
Agricultural Education and Extension, 5(1): 197-202.

Copyright: © 2019 Rekani et al. This is an open-access

article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original author and source are cited.

Genetic Variability and Morphological Diversity of Open-Pollinated Maize (Zea mays L.) Varieties under the Effect of Potassium Fertilization