Screening of Maize for Growth and Yield Potentials in Savanna Ecology

The Nigerian vegetation has savanna zones broadly divided into moist and dry. The development of early-maturing varieties of maize has reduced the time of maturity so that crops can escape the unreliable rainfall at the beginning and end of the rainy seasons. The late maturing varieties produce higher yields since grain yield is accompanied by longer duration and grain filling period. In this study, grain yield was significantly higher in the extra-early variety at both Saminaka and Vom, though flowering was earlier in Saminaka while earlength and width were higher at Vom.The late maturing recorded higher values for most of the growth and yield components investigated, while the early and extra-early varieties for high grain yields at both locations.