**1. Introduction**

Maize due to its various uses in feed (61%), industry (22%) and food sectors (17%), is considered as an internationally important commodity driving world agriculture.

Globally, it is grown in 193.7 million hectare across 170 countries (**Figure 1**), with total production of 1147.7 million metric tonne and average productivity of 5.75 t ha<sup>1</sup> . It has attained a position of industrial crop globally as 83% of its production in the world is used in feed, starch and bio-fuel industries [1, 2]. It has emerged as the most cultivated grain in the world, surpassing rice and wheat in 1996 and 1997, respectively [3]. Largest grain crop in India, after rice and wheat is Maize (*Zea mays* L.). It is cultivated in an area of 9.09 million hectares (M ha), with an annual production of 24.26 million metric tonnes (MMT), and an average national productivity of 2.56 metric tonnes per ha (t ha<sup>1</sup> ) [4]. In US and China are the leading producer accounting for about 38% and 23% respectively and India contributes around 2% of this production chart (26 million MT) in 2016–2017. In the Indian context it generates employment for more than 650 million person-days at farming and the businesses related to it. States such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Bihar contribute towards almost 2/3rd of the national maize production [5]. It is grown in India during rainy (*kharif*), winter (*rabi*) and spring seasons, but major production is in the rainy season [6]. Area under Rabi Maize (>400 thousand ha) is larger than that under *Kharif* maize (>230 thousand ha) in Bihar due to low infestation of insect, pest and diseases as well as slow growth of weeds [7]. The abiotic and biotic stresses listed in descending order of importance are: caterpillars, water stress, stem borers, weevils, zinc deficiency, rust, seed/seedling blight, cutworm, leaf blight and technological parameters. A potential solution for organic maize is to apply the biological control agent Trichogramma strips at around 10 and 17 days crop (100–125 no ha<sup>1</sup> ; size 5 1.50 cm). A study revealed that that by application of Trichogramma pretiosum, 79.2% of egg masses were parasited and maize yield increased by (701 kg ha<sup>1</sup> ) 19.4% [8].

Water stress during the growing season can decrease grain yields [9]. The FIRB technique save the resources like water, nutrients and labour and also facilitates the greater diversification of the rice-wheat cropping systems and improve the physical properties of soil [10]. The raised-bed planting may enhance maize productivity in part by increasing availability of essential crop nutrients by stimulating microbial activity. Raised-bed planting yielded mean saccharase, urease, protease and phosphatase activities across sampling times in 2006 of 2.3 mg glucose g<sup>1</sup> h<sup>1</sup> , 0.8 mg NH3N g<sup>1</sup> h<sup>1</sup> , 10.5 mg glycine kg<sup>1</sup> h<sup>1</sup> , and 0.4 mg nitrophenol g<sup>1</sup> h<sup>1</sup> , 6, 18, 34, and 31% higher than those in flat planting, respectively [11]. It was reported that wide (180 cm) beds produced higher wheat (15%) and maize (26%) yields whereas narrow (65 cm) and medium (130 cm) width beds produced higher maize yields (10%) while wheat yields were only marginally (<5%) higher than the basin treatment. The narrow beds used 3–7% while the medium and wide beds used 16–17% and 18–22% less water than the basins [12]. A 3–4 inch bed height is necessary for maintaining

**Figure 1.** *Worldwide distribution of Major crops.*

#### *Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

maximum yield for both corn and soybeans [13]. There was water saving of about 20.4% for wheat crop (for wide beds (107 cm furrow centre gap) and about 16.5% for narrow beds (37 cm furrow centre gap) with grain yield increase of about 13.5% (5.13 and 4.44 t ha<sup>1</sup> ) and 11.8% (4.33 and 3.82 t ha<sup>1</sup> ) for maize crop with precision land leveling and raised bed planting compared to traditional land leveling with flat beds planting [14]. Increasing the compost from 5 to 10 ton ha<sup>1</sup> increased the yield, protein and K contents in maize crop. The interaction between compost manure (10 ton ha<sup>1</sup> ) and nano-potassium (500 cm3 ha<sup>1</sup> ) or humic acid (10 ton ha<sup>1</sup> ) recorded the highest mean values for all parameters during both harvest seasons [15]. A study was done for maize (PMH-1) grain in the moisture range of 10–18% wet basis (w.b.), the length of wetted grain increased from 10.01 to 10.65 mm, width increased from 8.57 to 8.70 mm, thickness ranged from 4.63 to 4.97 mm and the angle of repose varied from 23.36° to 28.55° [16] and hue angle (z%) decreased from 14.59 to 14.06 [17]. Maize sown on ridges resulted in greater seed emergence of 89%, plant height of 155.1 cm, and greater grain yield of 6.35 t ha<sup>1</sup> [18]. The manual punch planter recorded 61–64% singles, 17–19% multiples, 17–22% missing for speed ranging between 0.5–0.7 km h<sup>1</sup> and for soil with 69% clay, 16% silt and 15% sand [19]. A punch planter for corn was evaluated for no-till conditions at the vertical position with 2.5 kPa of vacuum and at a 22° incline with 4.0 kPa of vacuum. Only small changes occurred in the seed meter performance when speed varied from 1 to 3 m s<sup>1</sup> [20]. The best seed spacing uniformity and seed emergence ratio were obtained with the no-till planter, and the best seed depth uniformity was obtained with the precision vacuum planter. As forward speed increased, mean emergence time decreased (p < 0.05) [21]. The time required to plant one hectare of farmland with manual planter was determined as 3.7 hours [22]. A small maize planter with an independent driving wheel and stationary firming wheels was specially designed and was found suitable as compared to ordinary seeders for complex terrain and heavy soil surface condition [23]. The data showed that planter performance in terms of emergence and plant spacing coefficient of variation (CV) was comparable for most of the meter speeds (17.4–33.5 rpm) among the two seed meters (variable depth and variable seed rate) utilized in the study [24]. For common grain drills, a CV of 20% is an acceptable accuracy achieved by mechanical and pneumatic machines when they are performing well [25]. Panning et al. [26] evaluated a vacuum metering general purpose planter designed for shallow planting of small seeds for sugar beet crop. The most uniform seed spacing occurred at the lowest speed of 3.2 km h<sup>1</sup> and decreased as the forward speed increased from 3.2 to 8.0 km h<sup>1</sup> . The seed spacing uniformity was not affected by planter forward speed between 4.8 and 11.2 km h<sup>1</sup> [27]. A population of 90,000 plants ha<sup>1</sup> had the highest grain yields than lower populations for adequate nutrients and water supply. When density/population of plants increases, stalk lodging will increase due to smaller stalk diameter and a slight gain in grain test weight was observed [28–30]. It was reported that as plant population increased, the yield and kernel numbers increased but weight of kernels decreased [9, 31]. Yield reductions from uneven plant distributions ranged from 0 to 31% and averaged 10% [32]. The part of sowing depth real-time control included the module of collect pressure information and the module of sowing depth adjustment and the part of precise control of the sowing spacing included the module of speed acquisition and sowing motor control in a developed intelligent detection and control system for corn precision planter [33].

In a tillage study soil conditions induced fall moldboard plow, spring disk, and notill were measured and the effects of tillage-induced soil conditions on planting depth, seedling emergence, and early growth of four maize hybrids grown continuously were evaluated on a poorly drained, moderately permeable soils. Surface residue cover averaged 10, 39, and 68% for the moldboard-plow, spring-disk, and no-till tillage systems, respectively. The study revealed that the residue from the previous maize crop remaining on the soil surface had a greater effect on plant growth than did the other soil physical properties measured. Seed placement was shallower and more variable on tillage systems with greater surface residue cover and early growth was delayed by systems with a large percentage of surface residue cover. Tillage systems with the best early growth tended to have the greatest yield, however, yields of hybrids were not always correlated with early growth The increase in seed depth with increasing amounts of tillage may result from decreasing soil strength or from decreasing surface residue cover. The final emerged plant population was least for the no-till system. Populations were similar in the spring disk and fall moldboard plow systems. Populations may have been reduced in the no-till system because of seed decay before germination or because seed was planted near residue pressed into the soil by the planter. Residue near the seed could reduce soil-seed contact and produce an allelopathic effect that can stunt or prevent early seedling growth [34, 35]. Compared with strip-rotating maize no-tillage planter, the maize no-till planter could not only seed and fertilize at the suitable depths, but also decrease soil disturbance and fuel consumption by 69.7% and 19.3%, respectively [36].

Field test shows that the planter has a good performance of trafficability with the ratio of sheering off corn stubble 85% and anti-blocking capacity, thus to finish wheat and maize no-till planting. The variation coefficient of seed depth was 19.4% and 23.4% for wheat and maize, respectively [37]. A rotary drum-type anti-blocking mechanism was developed and mounted in front of each opener shank of the maize planter and the drum was rotated driven by ground wheel at a certain speed. The result showed that the speed ratio was the most significant factor that affecting antiblocking performance. Based on the results of simulation, the speed ratio of 1.24, the drum diameter of 150mm and 5 bars were the optimum parameters [38]. Ultra high precision placement of seed was also established. Mechanisms that ensure that the seeds planted has zero ground velocity [39].

Apart from planting/sowing technique, the crop selection and rotation, tillage practices have a significant effect on GHG emissions and resource conservation. The 24.8% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs) are emitted by "Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)", including 0.5 Gt carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) yr<sup>1</sup> from enteric fermentation and 1.2 Gt CO2e yr<sup>1</sup> from agricultural soils [40]. The principal emissions from agricultural practices consist of (1) methane (CH4) from enteric fermentation, (2) carbon dioxide (CO2) from decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC), and (3) nitrous oxide (N2O) from synthetic fertilizer and manure [40]. The global warming potential (GWP) of each gas differs, however, with CO2e values of 34, 3.7, and 298 for CH4, SOC, and N2O, respectively [41] (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

Results show that the GWP of CH4 and N2O emissions from rice (3757 kg CO2 eq ha<sup>1</sup> season<sup>1</sup> ) was higher than wheat (662 kg CO2 eq ha<sup>1</sup> season<sup>1</sup> ) and maize (1399 kg CO2 eq ha<sup>1</sup> season<sup>1</sup> ). The yield-scaled GWP of rice was about four times higher (657 kg CO2 eq Mg<sup>1</sup> ) than wheat (166 kg CO2 eq Mg<sup>1</sup> ) and maize (185 kg CO2 eq Mg<sup>1</sup> ), suggesting greater mitigation opportunities for rice systems [42]. Intermittent irrigation in rice reduced methane emissions by 40% whereas application of farmyard manure in rice increased the GWP by 41% [43]. However, practice of mid-season drainage has reduced green house gases equivalent to 270 million tonnes of carbon

#### *Scaling Mechanization and Profitability in Maize Cultivation through Innovative Maize… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111766*

dioxide and increased the release of nitrous oxide, by about 20,000 tonnes for the same period [44]. It was estimated that CH4 emissions from global rice fields varied from 18.30.1TgCH4/yr (Avg. 1 SD) under intermittent irrigation to 38.8 1.0Tg CH4/yr under continuous flooding [45]. Around 30% and 11% of global agricultural CH4 and N2O, respectively, emitted from rice fields and A recent study based on the database from different states in India documented national CH4 budget estimate of 4.09 1.19 Tg year<sup>1</sup> [46]. Open-burning of straw residues also contributes to global warming through emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) [41, 47, 48]. The carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in the burned straw are emitted as CO2dC (57–81%), COdC (5–9%), CH4dC (0.43–0.90%), and N2OdN (1.16–1.50%) [49]. The global warming potential for CO2 is 1 (100 years period), CH4 is 27–30 (12 years in atmosphere), N20 is 273 (109 years). Another potent green house gas carbon monoxide reacts with hydroxyl (OH) radicals in the atmosphere, reducing their abundance. As OH radicals help to reduce the lifetimes of strong greenhouse gases, like methane, carbon monoxide indirectly increases the global warming potential of these gases [50]. This means that a methane emission is projected to have 28 times the impact on temperature of a carbon dioxide emissions of the same mass over the following 100 years assuming no change in the rates of carbon sequestration. More than half of the South Asian population's livelihood capabilities are at risk due to rising temperature, droughts, erratic and isolated rainfalls, floods resulting in decline of crop yield, water logging/water scarcity, reduced farm income and migration [51]. Growing rice in rotation with soybean and planting hybrid cultivars, drainage twice may result in reduced CH4 emissions. However, mineral-soil dressing on peat could have a significant impact on suppression of CH4 emissions from beneath the peat reservoir [52, 53]. The study suggests that adoption of rice-rice-rape (*Brassica napus* L.) cropping system would be beneficial for greenhouse gas emission mitigation and as good cropping pattern in double rice cropped regions [54]. The monoculture in any cropping system causes more insectpest attack, depletion of soil organic carbon, underground water, more use of fertilizers etc. Therefore crops should be grown in rotation specially with legumes to maintain soil health, reduce use of fertilizers, break insect-pest cycle thereby reducing use of chemicals, pesticides etc. A study revealed that crop residue return might be most effective in increasing crop yields and WUE in corn crops with a tillage depth > 20 cm, for cold conditions (<10°C), moderate nitrogen fertilization (0–150 kg ha<sup>1</sup> ), growth of a single crop per year and high soil organic matter content (>15 g kg<sup>1</sup> ) [55]. By assuming, the crops which had C:N ratio more than the threshold C:N ratio (50) and plant biomass higher than the threshold biomass (25 g/plant) were considered as having higher carbon sequestration potential. Based on these, the carbon sequestration potential of maize, sorghum and pearl millet was higher as compared to rice, finger millet and soybean [56]. Croplands worldwide and specially in intensively cultivated regions such as North America, Europe, India and intensively cultivated areas in Africa, such as Ethiopia could sequester between 0.90 and 1.85 Pg C/yr, i.e. 26–53% of the target of the "4p1000 Initiative: Soils for Food Security and Climate". Soil carbon sequestration and the conservation of existing soil carbon stocks is an important mitigation pathway to achieve the less than 2°C global target of the Paris Climate Agreement [57]. The crop water productivity for maize (1.80 kg m<sup>3</sup> ) is higher as compared to wheat (1.09 kg m<sup>3</sup> ), rice (1.09 kg m<sup>3</sup> ), cottonseed (0.65 kg m<sup>3</sup> ), cottonlint (0.23 kg m<sup>3</sup> ) [58]. The carbon dioxide sequestration potential of corn is 20 tonne ha<sup>1</sup> . Depending upon location and the specific management practices implemented, the Climate Exchange bases Michigan carbon payments on approximately 1.0–1.5 tons of carbon

dioxide equivalent per ha per year [59]. Soil biota includes earthworms, nematodes, protozoa, fungi, bacteria and different arthropods. Detritus (plant leaves, roots, stubble mulch etc.) resulting from plant senescence (final stage of plant growth) is the major source of soil carbon and above micro organisms decomposes these materials to help maintain nutrient cycling and organic carbon in soil. The organic matter content, especially the more stable humus, increases the capacity to store water and store (sequester) C from the atmosphere. The fastest way to gain soil carbon is to convert to long term no till, adding high carbon crops (corn and wheat) and adding cover crop mixture high in carbon (grasses primarily but also legumes to stabilize soil carbon). Along with GHG emissions, the depletion of ground water table under the existing 'Rice-Wheat' rotation in the erstwhile food bowl (Indo-Gangetic Plains) of the country has also alerted the state governments to diversify the cropping system and maize is a promising substitute. The wheat and paddy requires respectively 3–4, 30–35 irrigations per crop cycle where as maize crop requires 8–15 irrigations (depending upon rainfall) per crop cycle (each irrigation 50 mm). However, national productivity of maize is considerably lower than the global standards and there lies immense scope for improvement in farming technologies. Thus planters especially raised bed planters play a crucial role in achieving optimum maize crop stand, plant spacing, planting depth and higher yields in a sustainable way. Therefore, the feasible low cost flat and raised bed row crop precision planters were evaluated for sowing of maize crop and yield, energetic, irrigations aspects were studied.
