AGRONOMIC PRACTICES FOR OPTIMIZING MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.) YIELD AND QUALITY SEED: A REVIEW

Abstract

Maize has been a subsistence crop and its uses as staple food in different local dishes and
demand in markets make it very popular everywhere in the country. However, maize yield and
quality seed production constraints revealed many common problems encountered such as
diseases, insect pests, poor on-farm crop management, lack of technology and information
dissemination, and poor seed quality. Therefore, to halt these persistent problems of maize seed
and quality production, some research activities in areas of cultural practices were carried out
with the objectives of generating improved crop management methods for various maize seeds
and quality. The source of yield and seed quality improvements and the causes of those yield and
seed quality are not well understood. To explain the drivers of seed yield and quality seed and
current sources of yield improvements in maize. The maize yield and seed quality increases were
primarily attributed to agronomic improvements (from site selection up to storage). Therefore,
this review analyzes the Agronomic management factors contributing to the yield and quality of
seed of maize and recommends enabling conditions to improve agronomic practices.