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

General objecHve:
To improvement the production practices so as to increase the crop productivity per unit
area.
SUbjective objectives:
1. Introduction and selection of suitable OP varieties.
2. Development of economically viable crop management technologies.
To begin the programme, experts from CI~-AAMP, Thailand, were invited for the necessary
advisory services. Since then, AAMP has been instrumental in providing requi red germplasm,
technical advice, and relevant training to the Bhutanese scientists.
The extensive research so far carried out has generated significant information for the
formulation of single technologies and to reorient ourselves for future research.
Varietal improvement
Approximately 140 experimental varieties of exotic germp1asm have been evaluated throughout
the major maize growing agroc1imato1ogica1 zones of Bhutan. A large number of those entries have
been discarded at different stages of the evaluation since they were unsuited to our conditions.
Among the CI~ populations tested, 28 and 29 seem to be quite promising. Two of
the CI~ entries that have so far reached the multi location production evaluation stage are
SUWan B528 and Palmira 8529.
The Thai variety SUWan 1 was officially released by the Variety Release COllInittee in early
1992 under the name Yangtsipa. This variety is recommended for cultivation up to an elevation of
1,BOO m. The detai 1s of the performance evaluation of SUWan 1 are presented on Tables 2 and 3,
and Figs. 1 and 2.
Table 2. Results of on-farm trials on SUWan 1. 1990.
Yield (klil/ha)
Dzongkhaga llewOf/8 Village Elevation No 'erti 1izer Wi th 'arti 1iDr
(_I) ------------------ -------------------
Local Suwan Local SUWan
Mongar Salling Zangdung 1484 3343 1932 3578
Mongar Salling Thidubi 5400 8171 5538 7219
Mongar Sall ing Pangaibi 11110 2522 2558 2810
Mongar Ngachang Yadi 1500 17811 2937 3492 4034
Mongar Mongar Yadarbi 1450 131111 1387 2858 3505
Mongar Mongar Rhidaza 1500 3151 4313 3441 42119
Tashigang Sukhar Tash. Pu 1200 3541 4780 5793 81144
Tashigang Sukhar Tash. Pu 1200 2728 5889 4280 51105
Tashigang S&IIIkhar Taah. Pu 1200 11202 5284 8724 11288
Tashigang Kanglung Rhonllton9 1700 1170 1832 2914 3131
Tashigang Jangphu KhUldang 2133 2133 2887 2400
Tashigang Jangphu Khudang 11187 11187 2000 2133
Tashigang Jangphu Dolepchan 1333 1333 11100 18117
Tashigang Jangphu Dolepchan 2133 22117 2933 211117
MEAN 2549 3280 3481 4010
The major
1.
2.
agra'lOlllic production constraints identified are:
Low plant population at harvest time.
Weeding is an expensive operation.
26