TY - EJOU AU - CP, Yescas AU - C, MA Segura AU - C, L Martínez AU - R, VP Álvarez AU - T, JA Montemayor AU - V, JA Orozco AU - R, JE Frías TI - Yield and quality of forage maize (Zea mays L.) with different levels of subsurface drip irrigation and plant density T2 - Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany PY - 2015 VL - 84 IS - 2 SN - 1851-5657 AB - The scarcity of water in arid and semiarid regions of the world is a problem that every day increases by climate change. The subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) and changes in population density of plants are alternatives that can be used to make a sustainable use of water. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the combination that allows for an increased corn performance and efficient use of water without losing the quality of forage. Three different irrigation levels were applied through a system of a SDI at three different densities of forage maize plants in an arid region. The results demonstrated that by applying different levels of water, either enough or lack of soil moisture is created, which is directly reflected in crop yield, and its determining variables such as green forage and dry matter yield, and nutritional quality. The irrigation level to a 100% of potential evapotranspiration (PET), at a density of 80000 plants/ha, increased yield of green forage to 57664 kg/ha; crude protein was 8.59%, while the rest of the quality parameters decreased. This study allowed to conclude that the irrigation level was the major factor in the response of the crop. KW - Irrigation layer KW - Efficient water use KW - Potential evapotranspiration DO - 10.32604/phyton.2015.84.272