Plant population and nutrient requirement for baby corn hybrids (Zea mays)

A field experiment conducted at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi shows that ‘HM 4’ was a better baby corn hybrid (Zea mays L.) than ‘PEHM 2’ as it had early cob initiation, produced more and heavier cobs and recorded higher cob yield. Of the two plant population tested, a plant population of 83,333 was better than 66,666 plants/ha in terms of cob yield and other characters studied. The two hybrids did not differ in terms of N, P, K concentration in cobs or fodder. Increasing the application of N, P, K increased cob yield, fodder yield and gave a high value for most characters studied. The highest N, P, K concentration in cobs and fodder was recorded with an application of 187.5 kg N, 32.75 kg P and 62.5 kg K per hectare.