Oakes Irrigation Research Site
Carrington Research Extension Center * North Dakota State University
P.O. Box 531, Oakes, ND 58474-0531, Voice: (701) 742-2189, FAX: (701) 742-2700, email: rgreenla@ndsuext.nodak.edu

'SUGAR ENHANCED' SWEETCORN HYBRID PERFORMANCE TRIAL

Richard Greenland, Leonard Besemann and Heidi Eslinger

Table 30. Baby corn harvest date and spread, and number and weight of marketable baby corn ears

Table 31. Baby corn ear characteristics

Table 32. Effects of secondary ear removal for baby corn on ear diameter, number of ears per acre and yield of se sweetcorn

Table 33. Corn development, ear height, ear removal score, and percent lodging

Table 34. Number of ears per acre and yield of se sweetcorn

Table 35. Husk characteristics of se sweetcorn

Table 36. Ear characteristics of se sweetcorn

Sweetcorn grows very well in this area of North Dakota. The short summer is compensated for by long days and lots of sunshine. In our trials, sweetcorn has always matured before frost. In this trial, in addition to testing sweetcorn harvested at the regular time, we also tested sweetcorn for harvest as baby corn and the effects of harvesting secondary ears as baby corn on the yield of regular sweetcorn.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Soil:	Maddock sandy loam; pH=7.3; 2.6% organic matter; soil-P and soil-K were very high; soil-S was low.
Previous crops:	2003 - pumpkin; 2002 - field corn ; 2001 - cabbage
Seedbed preparation:	Disked on May 10. Multiweeded (field cultivated) on May 10 to smooth the seed bed and incorporate fertilizer.
Planting:	Seeded on May 14 in 30-inch rows. Planting depth was 2 inches. Plots were seeded at a rate of 48,500 seeds/acre, then later thinned to 25,000 plants/acre.
Plots:	Plots were 15 ft (6 rows) wide by 17 ft long. There were 4 reps.
Fertilizer:	On April 15, broadcast 20 lbs N/acre and 24 lbs S/acre as 20-0-0-24. Applied 50 lbs N/acre as 28-0-0 on May 10. Knifed in 100 lbs N/acre as 28-0-0 + Agrotain (2.4 qt/ton of N) on June 23.
Irrigation:	Overhead sprinkler irrigation as needed.
Pest Control:	Outlook + AAtrex (1 pt/acre + 0.5 lb ai/acre on May 14), cultivation (June 29 and June 30), and hand weeding controlled weeds. Applied Dipel (2 lb/acre on July 7 and July 15) to control European corn borer and corn earworm.
Harvest:	Secondary ears from one of the two center rows from each plot were harvested as baby corn from July 19 to August 2 (at a growth stage of initial silking to 2 days after silking). Primary ears and secondary ears of marketable size from both of the two center rows were hand harvested August 9 to August 25; 22 to 29 days after half-silk date.

RESULTS

Harvested as baby corn, Honey Select had the highest yield while Avalon and Providence had the best appearance. Harvesting secondary ears as baby corn slightly reduced yields and increased size of marketable ears. Most hybrids had good yield and quality. BC 0805 VP was the best looking. GH 6510 and BC 0805 VP were the most difficult to remove from the stalk. Accord, Avalon, BC 0805 VP, Luscious, Providence and Precious Gem produced the highest marketable yield and had above average quality. Honey Select, BC 0805 VP, GH 6510, and Brocade were the sweetest.

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Table 30. Baby corn harvest date and spread, and number and weight of marketable baby corn ears in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2004 sugar enhanced baby corn performance trial.

Hybrid	Seed source¹	Days to harvest	Harvest spread²	Number of ears		Yield
Hybrid	Seed source¹	Days to harvest	Harvest spread²	unhusked	husked	unhusked	husked
		days	days	---- 1000s per acre ----		--------- lbs/acre --------

Accord	MM	77	5	6.9	6.7	874	124
Avalon	RG	77	6	23.3	21.3	4170	372
BC 0805 VP	RG	76	7	20.5	18.7	3549	320
Brocade	MM	74	4	17.2	17.2	3097	369
Buccaneer	MM	75	6	17.9	17.2	2870	390
Colonial	RG	75	7	16.1	15.6	2441	283
Ecstase II	SW	67	7	26.6	24.1	2792	346
Envoy	MM	68	7	14.9	11.5	2218	230
GH 6510	RG	72	7	26.1	25.1	3381	482
Honey Select	SW	76	6	25.4	24.9	4348	552
Luscious	MM	72	7	19.7	19.2	2844	407
Precious Gem	MM	77	4	16.7	14.3	2876	380
Providence	RG	76	6	15.4	15.1	2574	259
Summer Delight	SW	73	8	23.6	17.9	4075	449

Probability		<.0001	0.04	<.0001	<.0001	<.0001	<.0001
LSD (0.05)		2	2	5.8	5.5	1010	124
C.V. (%)		1	27	21	22	23	24

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

²Days from first harvest to last harvest.

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Table 31. Baby corn ear characteristics for the 2004 Oakes Irrigation Research Site sugar enhanced baby corn performance trial.

Hybrid	Seed source¹	Ear weight		Ear length	Ear diameter	Appearance	Overall
Hybrid	Seed source¹	unhusked	husked	Ear length	Ear diameter	Appearance	Overall
		----- ounces/ear ------		--------- inches ---------		1 to 5	1 to 10

Accord	MM	2.1	0.30	3.4	0.52	3.8	7.2
Avalon	RG	2.9	0.28	3.5	0.54	3.9	7.7
BC 0805 VP	RG	2.7	0.28	3.5	0.54	3.8	7.4
Brocade	MM	2.9	0.34	3.6	0.57	3.7	7.3
Buccaneer	MM	2.5	0.36	3.4	0.59	3.7	7.3
Colonial	RG	2.4	0.29	3.4	0.58	3.7	7.3
Ecstase II	SW	1.7	0.23	3.0	0.55	3.8	7.0
Envoy	MM	2.3	0.31	3.4	0.55	3.7	6.9
GH 6510	RG	2.1	0.31	3.8	0.58	3.6	7.2
Honey Select	SW	2.8	0.36	3.7	0.58	3.6	7.4
Luscious	MM	2.3	0.34	3.3	0.60	3.7	6.5
Precious Gem	MM	2.8	0.42	4.0	0.56	3.8	7.4
Providence	RG	2.7	0.27	3.5	0.53	3.8	7.5
Summer Delight	SW	2.8	0.40	3.9	0.58	3.8	6.5

Probability		<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	0.03	0.46	<0.0001
LSD (0.05)		0.4	0.04	0.3	0.05	—	0.5
C.V. (%)		11	8	5	6	5	5

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

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Table 32. Effects of secondary ear removal for baby corn on ear diameter, number of ears per acre and yield of sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2004 se sweetcorn performance trial.

Secondary ears	Ear diameter	Unhusked				Husked
		marketable		total		marketable		total
		ears	yield	ears	yield	ears	yield	ears	yield
		1000s/A	tons/A	1000s/A	tons/A	1000s/A	tons/A	1000s/A	tons/A

Removed	1.83	22.4	9.2	24.3	9.7	20.3	5.2	24.3	5.8
Not removed	1.79	24.6	9.9	29.8	11.1	22.3	5.6	29.8	6.7

Probability	0.008	<0.0001	0.0055	<0.0001	<0.0001	0.002	0.007	<0.0001	<0.0001
C.V. (%)	4	11	12	10	11	14	14	10	11

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Table 33. Corn development, ear height, ear removal score, and percent lodging for se sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2004 sugar enhanced sweetcorn performance trial.

Hybrid	Seed source¹	Early stand²	Days to half-silk	Days to harvest	Ear height³	Ear removal⁴	Lodging
		1000s/A			inches	1 to 10	%

Accord	MM	33.6 fg⁵	76 j	103 g	29.5 abc	6.8 abc	3 ab
Avalon	RG	52.0 a	75 ij	103 g	30.8 a	6.3 cd	6 cd
BC 0805 VP	RG	47.7 ab	74 h	103 g	30.8 a	5.5 d	6 cd
Brocade	MM	37.3 ef	71 f	97 d	29.8 ab	7.0 abc	4 bc
Buccaneer	MM	41.0 cde	74 h	99 e	29.3 abc	6.8 abc	3 abc
Colonial	RG	45.9 bc	73 g	99 e	27.0 bcd	7.3 ab	2 ab
Ecstase II	SW	42.9 bcd	66 b	89 a	20.9 ef	6.9 abc	5 bed
Envoy	MM	34.6 fg	65 a	89 a	19.3 f	6.5 bc	0 a
GH 6510	RG	46.9 b	69 d	94 c	26.5 cd	4.5 e	8 d
Honey Select	SW	40.0 de	74 h	101 f	29.3 abc	6.3 cd	1 ab
Luscious	MM	45.4 bc	69 c	91 b	28.5 abc	7.0 abc	1 ab
Precious Gem	MM	44.8 bcd	75 i	102 fg	30.0 ab	7.4 a	3 ab
Providence	RG	44.5 bcd	74 h	102 fg	28.0 abc	6.8 abc	4 bc
Summer Delight	SW	30.9 g	70 e	95 c	23.9 de	6.9 abc	0 a

Probability		<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	0.0004
C.V. %		8	1	1	8	9	69

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

²Corn was over planted. After stand count, corn was thinned to about 28,000 plants/acre (unless fewer than 28,000 plants emerged).

³Distance from ground to base of ear.

⁴Indicates ease of ear removal. The higher the score, the easier it was to remove the ear.

⁵Values in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level.

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Table 34. Number of ears per acre and yield of se sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2004 sugar enhanced sweetcorn performance trial.

Hybrid	Seed source¹	Unhusked				Husked
		marketable		total		marketable		total
		ears	yield	ears	yield	ears	yield	ears	yield
		1000s/A	tons/A	1000s/A	tons/A	1000s/A	tons/A	1000s/A	tons/A

Accord	MM	23.3	11.5 ab²	25.7 d	12.1 a-d	22.7	6.7 ab	25.7 cd	7.2 ab
Avalon	RG	26.9	11.4 ab	32.3 ab	12.7 ab	25.9	6.6 ab	32.3 ab	7.5 a
BC 0805 VP	RG	28.0	11.9 a	32.6 ab	13.1 a	26.8	6.9 a	32.6 ab	7.7 a
Brocade	MM	22.3	10.2 a-d	25.6 d	11.0 b-e	20.8	5.9 a-d	25.6 d	6.7 abc
Buccaneer	MM	22.7	9.8 b-e	27.9 bcd	11.2 a-e	21.2	5.1 def	27.9 bcd	6.1 bcd
Colonial	RG	24.1	9.9 a-e	28.9 a-d	11.2 a-e	22.2	5.6 b-e	29.0 a-d	6.6 abc
Ecstase II	SW	27.6	7.5 f	32.7 ab	8.2 g	22.9	4.0 f	32.7 ab	5.0 d
Envoy	MM	25.9	8.3 ef	31.0 abc	9.1 fg	22.5	4.8 ef	31.0 abc	5.8 cd
GH 6510	RG	24.1	8.7 c-f	33.8 a	11.0 b-e	20.0	4.8 ef	33.8 a	6.9 ab
Honey Select	SW	24.6	10.3 abc	33.6 a	12.5 abc	21.5	5.5 cde	33.6 a	7.2 a
Luscious	MM	24.3	10.2 a-d	26.9 cd	10.8 c-f	21.8	5.9 a-d	26.6 cd	6.8 abc
Precious Gem	MM	24.3	9.7 b-e	26.4 cd	10.1 efg	23.1	6.5 abc	26.4 cd	6.9 ab
Providence	RG	23.6	10.7 ab	29.5 a-d	12.1 a-d	22.8	5.9 a-d	29.5 a-d	6.7 abc
Summer Delight	SW	21.8	8.3 def	30.0 a-d	10.3 d-g	17.8	4.3 f	30.0 a-d	6.1 bcd

Probability		0.16	0.0009	0.008	0.0005	0.08	0.0002	0.008	0.003
C.V. (%)		11	12	11	11	13	13	11	11

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

²Values in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level. The number of marketable ears

did not differ significantly among hybrids.

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Table 35. Husk characteristics of se sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2004 sugar enhanced sweetcorn performance trial.

Hybrid	Seed source¹	Husk color²	Distance husk over tip³	Husk tightness⁴	Percent short shank	Husk overall score
		1 to 3	inches	1 to 3	%	1 to 10

Accord	MM	2.0	2.7 a-e⁵	2.5 a	76 de	7.9 ab
Avalon	RG	2.0	3.3 ab	1.9 cde	88 a-d	7.4 bc
BC 0805 VP	RG	2.0	3.5 a	1.8 de	73 e	7.6 abc
Brocade	MM	2.0	2.3 c-f	2.3 abc	74 e	7.9 ab
Buccaneer	MM	2.0	3.0 abc	2.2 a-d	74 e	7.7 abc
Colonial	RG	1.7	3.0 abc	2.3 ab	96 ab	8.0 a
Ecstase II	SW	2.2	1.6 fg	1.5 e	101 a	6.4 d
Envoy	MM	2.1	1.2 g	2.1 a-d	80 cde	7.4 bc
GH 6510	RG	2.1	2.1 def	2.0 bcd	93 ab	7.4 bc
Honey Select	SW	1.9	2.0 ef	1.9 cde	85 b-e	7.9 ab
Luscious	MM	1.6	2.6 b-e	1.8 de	100 a	7.9 ab
Precious Gem	MM	2.0	2.8 a-d	1.8 de	97 ab	7.1 c
Providence	RG	1.9	3.1 ab	2.0 bcd	93 abc	7.6 abc
Summer Delight	SW	1.8	3.0 abc	2.0 bcd	93 abc	7.7 ab

Probability		0.41	<0.0001	0.004	0.0003	0.0004
C.V. (%)		15	19	13	10	5

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

²Color of husk. 1 to 3 is light to dark green.

³The distance the husk extends beyond the end of the ear.

⁴How tight husk is around ear. 1 = loose; 3 = tight.

⁵Values in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level. Husk color did not differ

significantly among hybrids.

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Table 36. Ear characteristics of se sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2004 sugar enhanced sweetcorn performance trial.

Hybrid	Seed source¹	Ear length	Ear diameter	Average rows of kernels	Tip unfilled	Tip shape²	Kernel color	Kernel yellow intensity³	Ear overall score
		-------- inches --------			inches	1 to 3		1 to 3	1 to 10

Accord	MM	8.0 bc⁴	1.94 a	18.7 a	0.4 a-d	1.7 b	bi	1.5 bcd	7.5 abc
Avalon	RG	8.7 a	1.79 bc	17.0 abc	0.2 abc	1.5 b	w	—	7.6 ab
BC 0805 VP	RG	8.4 ab	1.79 bcd	16.7 a-d	0.0 a	1.5 b	bi	1.5 bcd	8.0 a
Brocade	MM	8.4 ab	1.86 ab	16.0 bcd	0.8 de	1.5 b	bi	1.0 d	7.1 bc
Buccaneer	MM	7.4 de	1.78 bcd	18.1 ab	0.0 a	1.7 b	bi	1.8 ab	7.4 abc
Colonial	RG	8.4 ab	1.78 bcd	17.4 abc	0.5 a-d	1.7 b	bi	1.3 bcd	7.7 ab
Ecstase II	SW	7.0 e	1.62 ef	12.7 e	0.4 a-d	1.7 b	bi	1.5 abc	6.8 cd
Envoy	MM	7.6 cd	1.61 f	13.5 e	0.0 a	1.5 b	bi	1.5 bc	7.4 abc
GH 6510	RG	8.7 a	1.70 de	15.0 cde	1.2 e	1.1 c	y	2.0 a	6.4 d
Honey Select	SW	8.6 a	1.86 ab	18.0 ab	0.7 cde	1.0 c	y	1.5 bc	7.4 abc
Luscious	MM	7.3 de	1.93 a	17.0 abc	0.1 ab	2.0 a	bi	1.4 bcd	7.9 a
Precious Gem	MM	8.5 a	1.94 a	16.5 a-d	0.4 a-d	1.6 b	bi	1.0 d	7.8 a
Providence	RG	8.6 a	1.75 cd	15.0 cde	0.0 a	1.1 c	bi	1.1 cd	7.9 a
Summer Delight	SW	8.4 ab	1.75 cd	14.0 de	0.7 b-e	1.5 b	bi	1.3 bcd	7.0 bcd

Probability		<0.0001	<0.0001	0.0004	0.0014	<0.0001		0.0065	0.0006
C.V. (%)		3	3	10	96	12		22	6

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

²Tip shape: 1 is pointed; 2 is blunt; 3 is double or flat.

³Gives darkness of yellow kernels on ear. 1 = light yellow; 2 = medium yellow; 3 = dark yellow.

⁴Values in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level.