The 2011 sweet corn cultivar trial evaluated 20 sugary enhanced (se) and synergistic (se/sh2) cultivars having bicolored kernels to identify good production and ear characteristics for local marketing or short-distance shipping

Lawson, Vincent

English

The 2011 sweet corn cultivar trial evaluated 20 sugary enhanced (se) and synergistic (se/sh2) cultivars having bicolored kernels to identify good production and ear characteristics for local marketing or short-distance shipping.</p

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Iowa State University, Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm ISRF11-20   5 Sweet Corn Cultivar Trial  RFR-A1124  Vince Lawson, farm superintendent  Introduction The 2011 sweet corn cultivar trial evaluated  20 sugary enhanced (se) and synergistic (se/sh2) cultivars having bicolored kernels to identify good production and ear characteristics for local marketing or short-distance shipping.  Materials and Methods A John Deere 7000 corn planter was used for trial planting on April 29, 2011, in a field with dark loamy-sand soil. Plot design was a randomized complete block with three replications. Plots consisted of two rows 25 ft long spaced 30 in. apart. After emergence, plants were thinned to 8 in. apart establishing a plant density of 26,000/acre. Water was applied as needed by center pivot irrigation to supplement rainfall. Fertilizer was applied preplant at the rate of 60 lb/acre N, 45 lb/acre P2O5 and 160 lb/acre K2O and incorporated by chisel plowing and disking. An additional  50 lb/acre N was sidedressed on May 11 and again on June 21. Weeds were controlled with a crop preemergence application of Dual II Magnum, Atrazine 4L and Callisto herbicides. Ear caterpillars were controlled by insecticide sprays starting at ear silking. Data were collected by once-over hand harvest when majority of ears showed developed kernels at optimum stage for marketing. Yields are of marketable ears, which needed to have at least 5 in. length of filled kernels.      Results and Discussion The trial was planted on April 29 and most plots had emerged or ‘spiked’ by May 10. Other than a couple of minor storms causing some plant lodging, growth was good and plot harvest started on July 14. Trial yields and observations are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. Fastlane and Vitality were the first cultivars to produce harvestable ears. Although eating quality was surprisingly good for such early maturing cultivars, their ears were rather small and yield below average. Seedling vigor ratings in Table 2 are based on plant size approximately four weeks after planting. Charisma and Temptation received excellent vigor ratings and were easy to identify in the field because of their strong early season plant growth. Both cultivars also delivered good yields of attractive ears at harvest. Ambrosia and Montauk deserve special comment because they produced the largest ears in the trial and had great eating quality too. Primus is a new Triplesweet Plus cultivar from Syngenta that is advertised as having improved sweetness and flavor over other Triplesweet cultivars, which have already set a high standard. Judging eating quality by field sampling can be somewhat subjective but Primus, like many cultivars in the trial, produced a good yield of nice looking ears that were sweet, tender, and good tasting. Both BC 0822 and BC 0805 are Bt (or insect resistant) hybrids that performed well. The BC 0805 has been an industry standard because of its consistently high yield of large, good-quality ears and insect resistance. The BC 0822 matured one to two days earlier than BC 0805 and had slightly smaller ears but better flag leaves.       Iowa State University, Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm ISRF11-20   6  Table 1. Sweet corn cultivar seed source and trial comments. Cultivar Sourcea Comments Fastlane HM Short plant but early maturity, some lodging, smallish ears but good flavor Vitality RU Short plant, stalk breakage due to wind, smallish ears but good eating quality Temptation RI Standard - strong plant, attractive ears, good yield, and decent eating quality Bon Jour HM Good yield, ears attractive but could have been bigger, nice sweet corn flavor Renaissance HM Long shanks and flag leaves, slender ears, kernels tender, and sweet Pay Dirt CR Slow early plant growth, short plant, small ears, good eating quality Rendezvous HM Some stalk lodging, small 6 in. ears Reflection HM Some stalk lodging, thick ears, good eating quality Charisma SE Excellent seedling vigor, attractive ears, good yield, ‘corn’ flavor Ambrosia CR Standard – good yield, large ears, tip fill and husk cover could be better Venue HM Trashy plant, long ear shanks, slender ear, good husk cover and tip fill  Synergy RU Short uniform plants, good standability, ears pulled a little hard but attractive Powwow HM Tall plant, some lodging, kernels sweet and crisp Allure SE Tall plant, long ear shanks, 8 in. long slender ear Ka-Ching CR Long shanks and flag leaves, attractive slender ear, good eating quality Montauk HM High yield of large ears, kernels sweet and tender BC 0822 RG Bt hybrid, nice clean plant, good husk cover, slender ears Primus RG Good yield, long ear shanks, kernels tender and sweet BC 0805 RG Standard - Bt hybrid, produced long shanks and ear, fair tip fill, good eating Kristine CR Slow early plant growth due to herbicide injury aSeed source: CR = Crookham Co., HM = Harris Moran/Mesa Maize, RG = Rogers Brands, Syngenta Seeds, Inc.,  RI = Rispens Seeds, Inc., RU = Rupp Seeds, Inc., SE = Seneca Vegetable Research.  Table 2. Sweet corn cultivar seedling vigor, marketable yield and ear characteristics.   Cultivar Days to harvest  Seedling vigora  Yield dozen/A  Yield CWT/A Husked ear wt (lb) Ear len. (in.) Ear dia. (in.)  Tip filla  Husk covera Fastlane 76 G 1,121 71.9 0.43 7.0 1.72 G F Vitality 76 G 1,083 76.6 0.42 7.0 1.73 G F-G Temptation 77 E 1,721 137.3 0.47 7.3 1.78 G G Bon Jour 77 G 1,643 135.3 0.45 7.4 1.73 G G Renaissance 77 F-G 1,411 100.9 0.44 7.6 1.72 G G Pay Dirt 78 F 1,353 77.5 0.35 6.7 1.64 F-G G Rendezvous 78 G 1,276 83.3 0.39 6.5 1.70 G G Reflection 80 F-G 1,566 124.6 0.47 7.1 1.83 G G Charisma 80 E 1,547 118.3 0.50 7.8 1.76 G G Ambrosia 82 G 1,563 141.3 0.59 8.2 1.89 F-G F-G Venue 82 F-G 1,508 104.6 0.43 7.4 1.68 G G Synergy 82 G 1,489 123.7 0.50 7.3 1.85 G G Powwow 82 F-G 1,478 115.3 0.49 7.2 1.81 G F-G Allure 82 F-G 1,411 122.3 0.46 8.0 1.74 F-G G Ka-Ching 84 F-G 1,431 119.0 0.48 8.0 1.72 G G Montauk 85 G 1,798 170.5 0.56 8.2 1.86 F-G G BC 0822 85 G 1,547 117.9 0.47 7.6 1.74 G G Primus 86 G 1,643 144.1 0.51 8.0 1.78 F-G G BC 0805 86 G 1,624 149.2 0.54 8.2 1.80 F-G G Kristine 86 F 1,450 105.7 0.44 7.4 1.73 F-G G           Trial avg.   1,483 117.0 0.47 7.5 1.76   LSD 5%   351 30.7 0.05 0.4 0.08   aE = Excellent, F = Fair, G = Good. 

Sweet Corn Cultivar Trial

https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/36572

Sweet Corn Cultivar Trial

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