The selected maize variety was a locally bred OPV ‘Ruwan’, which has a crop duration of 115 days. Maize (germination 85%) was planted on mounds in all plots, at a spacing of 30 cm × 45 cm, one maize seed per point to obtain a planting density of 7.4 plants m−2 after following land preparation techniques. A nursery was maintained for 1 week to replace the non-germinated, abnormal or damaged seedlings. Weeding, pest and disease management and other cultural operations were followed based on local recommendations (Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka, 1995).