Proceedings of the Fifth Asian Regional Maize Workshop - Search ...

MAIZE RESEARCH AN:> PfDX.CTION IN &llTl-I VIETNAM
Pham Van Bien and Pham Thi Rinh 11
Abstract
Maize is the second main food crop after rice in SOUth Vietnam with a total maize area of
about 130,000-140,000 ha, average yield of 1.6-1.7 t/ha and total production of 217,000 -267,000
t/year. In 1993, some hybrid maize varieties were imported and planted on 10,000 ha. This
resulted in increasing the average yield to 2.63 t/ha in the first 1993 crop season.
The main maize production constraints are unfavorable climate, insects and diseases,
socioeconomic problems, processing and storage after harvesting, and seed production. Maize
research is divided into breeding and agronomic programs. For the breeding program, improved
open pollinated varieties are considered, and for the agronomic program some new practices are
recommended such as efficient fertilizer application, use of herbicides, adequate plant density,
and intercropping maize with soybean or mungbean. Limitations in maize research include lack of
plant breeders with postgraduate studies, laboratories and equipment. Experiment stations at far
away from the Institute, and development of new varieties and transfer of improved technologies
to the farmer's fields are still lacking. In recent years, many extension centers have been
established in various provinces paying attention to maize hybrid production.
In the future, it is expected that our program will continue to cooperate with the
National Maize Research Institute, CIMMYT, FAO, and other organizations inside and outside the
country in order to raise the average yield to 2.8 t/ha and increase the total production in the
country to 2.8 mt by the year 2000.
I. Introduction
In South Vietnam, maize is the second main food crop after rice. The area planted to maize
varies from year to year, from 130,000-140,000 ha with an average yield of 1.6-1.7 t/ha and total
production of 217,000-267,000 t per year (Table 1).
Maize is cultivated throughout SOUth Vietnam, from the Central highlands to the lowlands of
the Mekong river delta. The areas planted to maize in South Vietnam are divided into four zones
1) central plateau, 2) central coastal, 3) southeastern, and 4) Mekong delta.
The Southeastern, Central coastal and the Central plateau, including Bong Nai, Ba Ria, Vung
Tau, Lam Dong, Dac Lac, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Tuy Haa, and Phi Yen (Table 2) areas plant two
crops per year as follow:
Early: from April to August
Late : from August to November
Maize is grown mostly in the early season in rotation or mostly intercropped with soybean,
peanut, and mungbean.
In the Mekong delta zone, maize is grown in the highlands in the summer and in the lowlands
in the dry season. In South Vietnam the climate is tropical and divided into rainy and dry
seasons. The dry season starts in early November and lasts until late April. Maize can grow
practically throughout the year, when favorable temperature and rainfall conditions exist for the
crop.
In 1993, the area planted to maize in-South Vietnam was 86,500 ha, inclUding 10,000 ha
planted to hybrid maize. Several provinces in the Mekong delta have imported maize hybrid seed
from Thailand to plant in the dry season after rice. Seed of hybrid maize OK 888 and Pacific 11
11 Director and Maize breeder, respectively. Inst. Agric. Sci. of SOUth Vietnam, 121 Nguyen Binh
Khiem Street, Ha Chi Minh City, Vietnam. \
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