Maize in India: Production Systems, Constraints - AgEcon Search

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western regions. Alleviating production constraints for
spring and rainy season maize in the eastern region
had the lowest priority. Research and development
agendas by region are described below and presented
in Table 24.
5.1.1 Central and western region
The central and western region is characterized as a
low yielding maize environment, where mostly local/
traditional varieties are cultivated mainly for household
food security. Based on average annual rainfall, the
region was divided into two sub-regions: (1) the low
rainfall (less than 500 mm per year) sub-region
covering most of Rajasthan; and (2) the medium- tohigh-rainfall
(500-900 mm per year) sub-region
covering the whole of Madhya Pradesh and parts of
central and western Uttar Pradesh. In the low-rainfall
sub-region, moisture stress was the key constraint to
maize production, and aggressive breeding efforts to
overcome the drought problem are needed, as they
are thought to be more relevant than water-saving or
water management technologies. The use of
biotechnology to develop transgenic maize for drought
management would benefit poor and resource-scarce
farming communities in the low rainfall sub-region.
Other key research priorities in this sub-region are
inadequate availability of quality seed, lack of early
maturing varieties (needed for drought management),
and broadleaf and grassy weeds.
In the medium-to-high rainfall sub-region, key research
priorities are similar to those in the low rainfall region:
inadequate availability of quality seed, moisture stress,
unbalanced fertilizer use, lack of early maturing
varieties, and broadleaf and grassy weeds.
Public and private seed sectors are weak in both subregions.
Most farmers in these sub-regions are
resource poor and cannot afford to buy improved
seed, even if available. Under such a scenario, the
agricultural research institutions and state agricultural
universities based in the sub-regions may initiate seed
multiplication programs and sell at reasonable prices,
and hence pass on the benefits of research to farmers
confronted with poverty and water scarcity.
Given the poverty level and low yields, the region
needs to prioritize maize research. The research
environment is difficult, however, and may require
higher research outlays than are needed in favorable
environments. The research lag may be high with a
low probability of success because the production
environment is risky, fragile, and under stress. A
focused and completely revamped research strategy to
address the key research priorities could generate
technologies suited to farmers’ resources and production
environments.
5.1.2 Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
In this region, maize production is gradually shifting
from the rainy to the winter season, when the crop is
grown mainly under irrigation, so that yield levels are
higher and unit costs are lower. Lack of quality seed,
inappropriate crop establishment, and a lack of balanced
use of nutrients during the winter season were the top
three researchable issues in this region. A strong policy
research analysis, assessing the reasons for nonavailability
of improved seed and developing
appropriate strategies to overcome this constraint,
would allow further expansion of the area under winter
maize. Similarly, diagnostic surveys to understand the
reasons for inappropriate crop establishment and lack of
balanced use of nutrients would provide deeper insights
for undertaking in-depth research programs. Other
problems in the easter n region for winter and irrigated
maize (minimization of post-harvest losses, management
of Turcicum leaf blight, and post-flowering stalk rot)
would also benefit from research efforts. Inter-cropping
with maize and transplanting maize under late sown
conditions are other high-priority research issues for
which public and private sector research is in progress.
In the high and medium rainfall regions of Eastern Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar, the priority constraints are related to
appropriate variety development. The development of
medium- and full-season cultivars for high rainfall
regions and of extra-early or early cultivars for medium
rainfall regions are the highest priority. Researchable
issues are more or less the same within the eastern
region but their ranking varies depending on the
location’s rainfall regime. For example, weeds have a
higher priority in high rainfall regions than in the medium
rainfall areas. Development of drought-escape varieties
along with appropriate management practices may be
the best research strategy.
5.1.3 Southern region
This non-traditional maize growing region encompasses
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and is characterized as
high yielding. Maize is grown for commercial purposes,
mainly to meet the growing demand for poultry feed. It
is grown in varying rainfall regimes (or sub-regions) in
this region: low (750 mm). Among the three rainfall regimes,
the high rainfall area is the most important, and the low
rainfall sub-region is the least important for maize
production.