The key question of developing maize production in Hungary is to comprehensively utilise the interactive effects between the agrotechnical elements of production technology, as well as to adapt them to hybrids. We examined the fertiliser and plant density response of various maize hybrids (Sushi, Loupiac, Armagnac, Fornad) in a long-term experiment on chernozem soil in 2017 and 2018. The unfavourable climatic effects of the especially extreme weather of the examined crop years were significantly mitigated by the outstanding water management characteristics of the chernozem soil, the adaptability of the maize hybrids and the near-optimal agrotechnical background (the obtained yields were between 10.2–16.7 t ha-1 in 2017 and 9.3–15.9 t ha-1 in 2018). The examined hybrids produced high control (non-fertilised) yield level due to the favourable soil (10.5–12.0 t ha-1 in 2017 and 9.3–13.6 t ha-1 in 2018). However, the yield surplus resulting from fertilisation was significant (4.4–6.1 t ha-1 in 2017 and 3.5–4.4 t ha-1 in 2018, averaged over the examined hybrids). Increasing plant density resulted in a more moderate yield surplus in the control treatment (0–0.5 t ha-1 in 2017 and 0.8–3.1 t ha-1 in 2018) than in the case of optimal NPK fertilisation (0.6–4.6 t ha-1 and 1.2–2.9 t ha-1, depending on the given hybrid), which showed the close correlation of fertilisation×plant density. The optimal fertiliser dose was N=120–150 kg ha-1+PK in 2017 and N=90–120 kg ha-1 in 2018, depending on the examined hybrid.

Keywords: maize, fertilisation, plant density, hybrid, interaction