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eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Optimizing Maize Plant Density to Enhance
Growth, Yield, and Lodging Resistance
for Climate-Resilient Crop Development
1
College of Agriculture, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong, 271018, China
2
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
Submission date: 2025-05-22
Final revision date: 2025-10-01
Acceptance date: 2025-12-01
Online publication date: 2026-05-19
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Maize is a vital cereal crop enhancing food security. Optimizing plant density is a common practice
to increase crop yield. This study investigates the impacts of high plant density on the biochemical
composition, dry matter accumulation (DMA), photosynthesis-active radiation (PAR), radiation use
efficiency (RUE), grain production, and stalk lodging in maize cultivation. Five plant densities (4.5,
6, 7.5, 9, and 15 plants m-2) referred to as PD4.5, PD6, PD7.5, PD9, and PD15, respectively, were tested
on three maize hybrids, Zhengdan 958 (ZD958), Longping 206 (LP206), and Jinqiu 119 (JQ119), at the
Mengcheng Research Station during 2016 and 2017. High plant densities increased PAR, RUE, DMA,
and grain yield and led to a higher incidence of stalk lodging. The highest grain yields were achieved
at PD6 (9.44%) and PD7.5 (2.98%), while yields decreased at PD15 (12.5%) due to a 60% increase
in lodging. Under high plant density, internodes experienced rapid accumulation of carbohydrates
but ceased elongating, expanding, and developing structural carbohydrates. Stem bending resistance
positively correlated with cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content (0.9293**, 0.8572**, 0.8976**),
as did stem crushing resistance with the same components (0.9096**, 0.8372**, 0.8738**). The present
study’s outcome will help determine the optimum plant density to improve food security and enhance
maize yield under different climatic conditions.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
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