Sowing Moment Impacts Maize Hybrids Nutrient Use Efficiency and Yielding

Abstract Maize is a global crop and has a major economic impact in Brazil. The agronomic characteristics and performance of different hybrids vary depending on the moment of sowing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of ten maize hybrids sown at different sowing dates in two locations of Goiás State, Brazil. We carried out two independent field experiments in randomized blocks in a factorial design composed of 10 hybrids (FS575PWU, FS610PWU, FS512PWU, FS533PWU, MG593PWU, MG580PWU, 30A37PWU, P3858PWU, KWS9606VIP3) vs. different sowing moments (3 or 2 - early sowing until February 10th (sown on February 8th), normal sowing, between February 11th and 28th (sown on February 20th) and late sowing, after February 28th (sown on March 6th)). We assessed plant height, ear insertion height, grain yield, macro and micronutrient concentration in grains, nutrient exportation, and nutrient use efficiency. There were significant differences between hybrids, sowing moments, and hybrid x sowing moment interaction. The MG593PWU and FS575PWU hybrids had the higher yielding with more than 5,000 kg.ha − 1 grain yield in early sowing, demonstrating high efficiency in N use. The same hybrids differ significantly in late sowing with 2,558 and 1,725 kg.ha − 1 , respectively, a production 48% higher for MG593PWU. In the early sowing moment, the MG593PWU hybrid had yielding 35% higher than the less productive FS610PWU indicating that this hybrid is able to use resources more efficiently, including nitrogen with NUE values of 56.75 and 41.97, respectively. Our results clearly demonstrate differences in nitrogen use efficiency suggesting that such differences between maize hybrids must be taken into account to optimize fertilizer management in order to achieve high yielding with less nutrient input.