Claim · model-written summary
Planting multiple seeds per station decreased yield potential of maize.
Zea maysVerbatim
t0“Suboptimal maize spacing undermines yields and diminishes land utility in Malawi”
e3“Widespread deviations were driven by excessively wide ridge and intra-row spacing, and by the practice of planting multiple seeds per station”
e4“which introduces intra-station competition and limits yield potential”
Title
Suboptimal maize spacing undermines yields and diminishes land utility in Malawi
Bertha Kachala; Stella Kumwenda; Annie Matumba; et al. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 2025. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2025.1629487
Other claims from this paper (6)
- Observation Less than 10% of maize farms in Malawi had the recommended plant population of 53,333 plants per hectare.
- Observation Many maize farms in Malawi fell short of the recommended plant population by 25% or more.
- Association Widespread deviations from recommended maize spacing were associated with excessively wide ridge and intra-row spacing.
- Association Adoption of recommended maize spacing options may be limited by labor required for ridge construction, rotation with tobacco and limited mechanization access.
- Intervention effect Transitioning to improved spacing through mechanization could increase maize yield by up to 25%.
- Recommendation Transitioning to improved maize spacing through mechanization is financially feasible, even at smallholder scale.