Evaluation And Selection Of Maize Hybrids For Tolerance To Acidic Soils

Most of the arable soils in the country are weathered and acidic in nature. These acidic soils which are classified as Ultisols and Oxisols occupy about 72% of land in Malaysia (IBSRAM, 1985). The soils have low pH, low cation exchange capacities, high Al concentration and low basic cations, mainly Ca and/or Mg (Shamshuddin et al., 1991). Among these complex factors, aluminum (Al) toxicity is a major constraint to crop production on acidic soils, including maize, in which the yields are reported unsatisfactorily in the soils (Shamshuddin et al., 1991). Most studies in the past have been carried out in correcting soil acidity problems by application of soil amendments. Despite their ability to overcome soil acidity problems, application of the soil amendments has a number of limitations (Kamprath, l97l; Shamshuddin et al., 1998; Hede et a1.,2002). Thus, planting maize hybrid varieties tolerant to acidic soils along with the use of sustainable agronomic practices offers an effective strategy for improving maize productivity on acidic soils. The aim of this study was to evaluate and select maize hybrids tolerant to acidic soils