Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most widely grown cereal crops worldwide, with around 20% of its grains used for food purposes, 15%–20% for technical purposes, and 60% for feed. In the Akmola Region of Kazakhstan, maize used for silage is preferable in the milky-wax ripeness phase of the grain. The following study aimed to evaluate early-maturing and high-yielding maize hybrids’ average over 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 for cultivation in the hill-plain zone of Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. Three early-ripening maize hybrids, Budan-237-MV, KizURAKS-150-SV, and Tselinny-160-SV, obtained evaluation, with the Sary-Arka-150-ASV (St.) serving as the standard, grown with the recommended agricultural technology. For the vegetation period, maize hybrids KizURAKS-150-SV and Sary-Arka-150-ASV (standard) grains reached wax ripeness in 113 days. The highest grains per cob resulted in the hybrids KizURAKS-150-SV (237 grains cob-1) and Sary-Arka-150-ASV (240 grains cob-1). The heaviest grain weight per cob was evident in hybrids Tselinny-160-SV (131 g) and Sary-Arka-150-ASV (128 g). The grain yield, as managed by the genotype by environment interactions, had the hybrid Tselinny-160-SV with the highest grain yield (4.4 t/ha). Therefore, the early-maturing maize hybrids KizURAKS-150-SV, Sary-Arka-150-ASV, Tselinny-160-SV, and Budan-237-MV emerged as the most suitable for cultivation in Northern Kazakhstan for forage purposes.
Maize (Z. mays L.), early-maturing hybrids, environmental factors, growth and development, cob traits, yield-related traits, grain yield
In the comparative assessment of maize (Z. mays L.) hybrids for early maturity and grain yield in the hill-plain zone of the Akmola Region, the hybrid KizURAKS-150-SV occurred with 113 days and 3.3 t/ha, and the most productive hybrid with an extended vegetation period was the Tselinny-160-SV (4.4 t/ha-1 and 121 days).