Influence of Crop Residue Management on Maize Production Potential

Residue management at the farm level is essential for ensuring sustainable agricultural productivity. This field experiment, initiated in 2005, provides maize data from 2016 to 2018. This study evaluates the impact of crop residue management and fertilization on maize yield and yield components. Maize was grown in a crop rotation sequence consisting of field pea (Pisum sativum L.), durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.), milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.), and maize (Zea mays L.). The measures studied include aboveground biomass removal (K), aboveground biomass incorporation (R), mineral fertilizer application (F), and their combination (RF). The results indicate that R and RF significantly improve yield parameters, such as kernel number per ear (KNE), thousand seed weight (TSW), stalk yield, and harvest index (HI), compared to control (K) or aboveground biomass incorporation alone (R). Grain yield varied across the years, with significant increases being observed for the fertilizer treatments, particularly when combined with straw or stalk incorporation. A nominal increase in grain yield of 1.43 t ha−1 for the F treatment and 1.86 t ha−1 for the RF treatment represents an increase of 39% to 51% compared to K and R. Strong positive correlations were observed between grain yield and several factors, including ears per hectare (0.61), KNE (0.94), TSW (0.61), and HI (0.85). These findings underscore the role of crop residue management and promoting sustainable crop production.