VARIETAL RECOMMENDATION

Sweet Corn : Hybrid No 5, Masmadu dan Thai Super Sweet

Baby Corn : Thai Super Sweet

CULTURAL PRACTICES

Site Selection

Sweet corn/baby corn can be grown on most soils provided the drainage is good but usually it performs best on deep loams and silt loams containing an abundance of organic matter and welll supplied with available nutrients. Sweet corn/ baby corn can also be grown on moderately acid soils (as low as pH 5.0), but pH range of 6.0 to 7.0 is the most favourable. An ideal site for planting sweet corn/ baby corn is an open of flat or gently sloping land.

Continuos planting with sweet corn/ baby corn is not recommended. Crop rotation wherein sweet corn/ baby corn is grown alternatively with groundnut, soy bean, sweet potato, and other crops is very beneficial in terms of crop production and soil management.

Land Preparation

Land preparation includes felling, burning and tilling, and in low-lying land, the construction of drains to remove excess water. Land tiling can be done either manually using changkol or mechanised using a pedestrian power tiller.

A reasonably smooth and firm ploughed area provideds favourable soil condition for germination and seedling development.

Planting

When land preparation has been completed, 2 seeds are dibbled in each planting hole. The plants are spaced 60 cm between rows and 60 cm in the row. THis spacing would require seedling rate of 10-12 kg/ha seed. Planting distance for baby corn is 45 cm x 45 cm and about 20-25 kg/ha seed is required.

Isolation

Sweet corn should not be planted together with grain corn or different varieties of sweet corn as this will affect the quality of sweetness of fresh cobs.

Weeding

Sweet corn/ baby corn does not tolerate strong weed competition. It is important that the field be kept free from any weeds during the first one month or so. Weed control can be done manually or mechanically whereas in large plantation, it is necessary to use herbicides or the mechanical method to control weeds.

A very good herbicides to use is Altrazine 80 WP at 5.6 kg/ha sprayed twice, the first to be applied as a pre-emergence and the other at one or one and a half month after sowing.

Fertilizer

It is suggested to apply fertilizer 12:12:17:2 at the rate of 600 kg/ha prior to planting or during planting and then to be topdressed with 150 kg/ha ureaat about 5-6 weeks after planting.

Organic manures such as chicken mannure, cow mannure and compost can also be used as basal dressing.

Harvesting

For sweet corn, harvest as soon as the kernels are well-filled (65-75 day after planting). For baby corn, harvest 2-3 days after silking (40 -50 days after planting).

It is important to note that sweet corn lose the sweetness rapidly and should be marketed and consumed after harvest.

Pest

1. Stem borer

Larva feeds on leaves, leaf tissue or even leaf whorl and stem causing retarded growth and poor yield.

Control:

i.Remove and burn all sweet corn/ baby corn stubble or stalk after harvesting

ii. Spray Endosulfan/ Selvin/ Permethrin/ Phenthoate one month after planting and three subsequent applications at fortnightly interval if field condition warrants it.

2. Cob Borer

Major attack is generally at the flowering and fruiting periods. Larva feeds on leaves or dender cobs. It bores and lives inside the cob, thus impairing the formation of cobs.

Control:

Difficult to control but Carbaryl and Dimethoate spray could be carried out where necessary.

Diseases

1. Leaf Blight

Lesion on leaves begin as light brown oval spot of 2.5 cm in sixe. Enlargement by coalescence of spots result in 'blight' patches. Severely attacked sweet corn/ baby corn will die with dried out leaves. The fungus spreads rapidly in damp weather when gray black sporess are liberated from the lesions.

Control:

i.Grown more resistant varieties.

ii. Crop rotation and field sanitation before sowing.

iii.Seed dressing with fungicides: Thiram or Captan at 12 teaspoon per 1.36 kg of seeds.

2. Common Smut

Gall lije swelling on cobs and other aerial parts. At first, galls are silver -white but later on split to produce masses of dark-brown to black spores or smut.

Control:

i. Remove and burn all diseased materials.

ii.Seed treatment with Thiram 80% at 5g/100g seeds.

3.Bacterial Wilt

Diseased plants show droping of top portion rapidly. Cross-section of lower stem show brown wound. Dipping cut ends in water will excrete a slimy white sticky liquid typical of bacterial 'ooze'.

Control:

i.Sanitation by removing and burning of diseased materials

ii. Not to plant in the infested soil

iii. Practise crop rotation

4. Rust

Mature leaves, particularly the undersurfaces are covered with small raised blister-like pustules containing millions of orang rust spores.

Control:

i. Fungicides as spray may offer some control

ii. Burn all sweet corn/ baby corn debris after harvest.

5. Sheath Blight

Initially elongated, grey lesions occurs on the leaf sheaths. These enlarge, turn lighter in colour and develop blackish-brown margins. Brown, globose or irregular seed-like sclerotia (1-3 mm) may develop on the parts attacked.

Control:

i.Remove and burn all affected plants parts.

ii. Practise crop rotation.

iii. Avoid mechanical injuries which provide infection sites for the pathogen.

iv. Spray Benomyl (80% a.i.) at the rate of 18 g in 18 liter water

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