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, E-mail: Leonard.Besemann@ndsu.edu

'SUGAR ENHANCED' SWEETCORN HYBRID PERFORMANCE TRIAL

Richard Greenland, Leonard Besemann and Heidi Eslinger

Table 24. Baby corn harvest date and spread, and number and weight of marketable baby corn ears

Table 25. Baby corn ear characteristics

Table 26. Effects of secondary ear removal for baby corn on ear diameter, # of ears per acre and yield of se sweetcorn

Table 27. Corn development, ear height, ear removal score, and percent lodging for se sweetcorn

Table 28. Number of ears per acre and yield of se sweetcorn

Table 29. Husk characteristics of se sweetcorn

Table 30. 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, Hecla sandy loam and Embden sandy loam; pH=6.3; 2.5% organic matter; soil-P and soil-K were very high; soil-S was low.
Previous crops:	2004 - soybean, cabbage and pumpkin ; 2003 - field corn ; 2002 - onion and cabbage
Seedbed preparation:	Disked on November 16, 2004. Multiweeded (field cultivated) on May 5 to smooth the seed bed and incorporate fertilizer.
Planting:	Seeded on May 6 in 30-inch rows. Planting depth was 2 inches. Plots were seeded at a rate of 35,000 seeds/acre, then later thinned to 25,000 plants/acre.
Plots:	Plots were 30 ft (12 rows) wide by 17 ft long. There were 4 reps.
Fertilizer:	On April 15, broadcast 26 lbs N/acre and 30 lbs S/acre as 21-0-0-24. Knifed in 125 lbs N/acre as 28-0-0 + Agrotain (2.4 qt/ton of N) on June 17.
Irrigation:	Underground drip irrigation as needed.
Pest Control:	Outlook + AAtrex 9-O (1 pt/acre + 0.5 lb ai/acre on May 6), cultivation (June 22), and hand weeding controlled weeds. Applied Dipel (1 lb/acre on July 6) 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 8 to July 26 (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 July 27 to August 12; 22 to 29 days after half-silk date.

RESULTS

Harvested as baby corn, Honey Select had the highest yield while Avalon had the best appearance. Harvesting secondary ears as baby corn slightly reduced yields. Most hybrids had good yield and quality. Avalon was the best looking. WH 0807 was the most difficult to remove from the stalk. Avalon, BC 0805 VP, Charisma and Renaissance produced the highest marketable yield and had above average quality. BC 1136, Buccaneer, Charisma and Precious Gem were the sweetest. Honey Select, Infinite Delight II and Brocade had the best taste.

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Table 24. Baby corn harvest date and spread, and number and weight of marketable baby corn ears in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2005 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	6	5.4	4.9	572	72
Avalon	RG	74	4	13.1	13.1	2320	262
BC 0805 VP	RG	76	6	13.8	13.3	2221	241
BC 1136	RG	74	5	9.7	8.2	1792	152
Bon Jour	MM	70	7	11.8	9.2	1704	194
Brocade	MM	73	7	10.5	10.5	1960	189
Buccaneer	MM	73	6	7.9	5.6	1453	117
Charisma	SW	72	5	15.6	12.8	2553	318
Colonial	RG	72	6	10.0	8.2	1802	165
Exotic 65	MA	66	5	14.9	13.8	2032	213
Harris 1001	HR	71	6	16.4	12.8	3248	277
Honey Treat	RG	70	6	12.3	11.3	1681	215
Honey Select	SW	74	5	17.9	16.1	3410	362
Infinite Delight II	MA	68	6	16.4	13.8	2156	240
Luscious	MM	71	4	8.2	5.6	1486	142
Precious Gem	MM	75	6	12.8	11.5	1804	245
Providence	RG	77	6	11.8	11.5	1868	208
Renaissance	HR	69	6	13.1	12.6	1761	169
WH 0807	RG	72	6	13.3	13.3	1857	245

Probability		<0.0001	0.87	0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001
LSD (0.05)		2	--	4.8	4.4	915	91
C.V. (%)		1	38	27	28	33	30

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

²Days from first harvest to last harvest.

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Table 25. Baby corn ear characteristics for the 2005 Oakes Irrigation Research Site sugar enhanced baby corn performance trial.

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

Accord	MM	1.6	0.22	3.0	0.47	3.6	6.5
Avalon	RG	2.8	0.32	3.7	0.55	3.9	8.1
BC 0805 VP	RG	2.6	0.29	3.5	0.56	3.9	7.7
BC 1136	RG	3.0	0.30	3.4	0.58	3.7	7.3
Bon Jour	MM	2.3	0.33	3.2	0.54	3.5	6.4
Brocade	MM	3.0	0.29	3.5	0.56	3.3	7.7
Buccaneer	MM	2.9	0.33	3.3	0.56	3.6	7.1
Charisma	SW	2.6	0.42	3.8	0.58	3.6	7.6
Colonial	RG	2.9	0.32	3.6	0.58	3.7	7.3
Exotic 65	MA	2.2	0.25	3.1	0.53	3.5	7.5
Harris 1001	HR	3.1	0.34	3.9	0.58	3.1	6.8
Honey Treat	RG	2.2	0.30	3.7	0.57	3.7	7.7
Honey Select	SW	3.0	0.36	3.8	0.60	3.9	7.5
Infinite Delight II	MA	2.1	0.28	3.3	0.55	3.7	7.6
Luscious	MM	2.9	0.40	3.6	0.63	3.4	7.1
Precious Gem	MM	2.2	0.33	3.9	0.55	3.7	7.1
Providence	RG	2.5	0.29	3.6	0.55	3.8	7.8
Renaissance	HR	2.2	0.22	3.2	0.54	3.2	7.4
WH 0807	RG	2.2	0.29	3.6	0.55	3.7	7.9

Probability		<0.0001	<0.0001	0.0002	0.003	<0.0001	<0.0001
LSD (0.05)		0.4	0.07	0.4	0.06	0.3	0.7
C.V. (%)		11	15	8	7	6	6

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

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Table 26. 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 2005 se sweetcorn performance trial.

Treatment	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

Secondary ears not removed	20.6	7.9	23.4	8.5	19.2	4.9	23.4	5.5
Secondary ears removed	19.3	7.6	21.1	8.0	18.0	4.7	21.1	5.2

Probability	0.0149	0.07	<0.0001	0.0009	0.03	0.15	<0.0001	0.007
C.V. (%)	15	12	12	11	17	14	12	12

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Table 27. Corn development, ear height, ear removal score, and percent lodging for se sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2005 sugar enhanced sweetcorn performance trial.

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

Accord	MM	22.9 d-g⁵	74 i	95 g	23.5 bcd	5.8 def	2.5 ab
Avalon	RG	28.1 abc	73 h	95 g	21.5 efg	6.4 bc	1.3 ab
BC 0805 VP	RG	29.3 ab	73 h	95 g	22.3 def	6.1 b-e	3.8 ab
BC 1136	RG	22.5 d-g	73 h	95 g	19.8 ghi	6.4 bc	0.0 e
Bon Jour	MM	24.1 c-f	67 c	88 b	18.8 ijk	6.6 b	8.8 bc
Brocade	MM	24.1 c-f	71 f	91 ef	24.8 bc	5.6 ef	7.5 ab
Buccaneer	MM	21.3 efg	72 g	92 f	21.0 fgh	6.1 b-e	3.8 f
Charisma	SW	28.3 abc	70 ef	91 de	27.0 a	5.8 def	8.8 abc
Colonial	RG	24.7 cde	70 ef	91 ef	19.8 ghi	6.3 bcd	7.5 d
Exotic 65	MA	19.9 fg	64 a	86 a	13.5 m	7.3 a	3.8 e
Harris 1001	HR	18.8 g	70 e	90 de	15.8 l	6.1 b-e	5.0 ab
Honey Treat	RG	31.5 a	68 d	88 bc	17.0 kl	5.4 f	1.3 ab
Honey Select	SW	22.7 d-g	72 gh	94 g	22.1 def	6.3 b-e	0.4 ab
Infinite Delight II	MA	26.6 bcd	66 b	88 b	17.6 jkl	5.6 def	7.1 abc
Luscious	MM	27.4 abc	69 d	89 cd	19.3 hij	6.4 bc	6.3 c
Precious Gem	MM	25.0 b-e	72 g	92 f	23.0 cde	6.3 bcd	0.0 a
Providence	RG	24.3 cde	75 i	97 h	20.8 fgh	5.8 def	0.0 a
Renaissance	HR	22.5 d-g	67 bc	88 b	21.0 fgh	5.9 c-f	5.0 ab
WH 0807	RG	24.5 cde	69 e	91 de	25.0 b	4.6 g	7.5 ab

Probability		<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001
C.V. %		16	0.6	0.4	5	6	51

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 28. Number of ears per acre and yield of se sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2005 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	17.7	7.6 b-e²	18.7 d	7.9 e	16.9 def	4.7 b-e	18.7 e	5.0 def
Avalon	RG	20.8	8.6 ab	24.1 bc	9.4 abc	19.7 b-f	5.5 ab	24.1 cd	6.2 a
BC 0805 VP	RG	19.7	8.0 b-e	22.0 bcd	8.6 cde	18.4 c-f	5.0 a-e	22.0 cde	5.6 a-e
BC 1136	RG	18.4	7.1 c-f	21.0 cd	7.7 ef	17.2 def	4.3 e	21.0 de	4.9 ef
Bon Jour	MM	19.2	6.9 ef	23.3 bc	7.7 ef	19.0 b-f	4.5 cde	23.3 cd	5.0 c-f
Brocade	MM	23.3	9.6 a	24.3 bc	9.9 ab	22.0 abc	5.8 a	24.3 cd	6.2 a
Buccaneer	MM	17.9	7.0 def	22.0 bcd	7.9 e	16.4 ef	4.1 ef	22.0 cde	4.8 ef
Charisma	SW	21.2	7.4 b-f	23.0 bc	7.7 ef	20.1 b-f	5.1 a-e	23.0 cde	5.5 a-e
Colonial	RG	20.0	7.5 b-e	21.0 cd	7.7 e	19.5 b-f	4.8 b-e	21.0 de	5.0 def
Exotic 65	MA	20.2	6.1 f	22.5 bc	6.5 f	15.9 f	3.3 f	22.5 cd	4.2 f
Harris 1001	HR	19.7	7.5 b-e	23.1 bc	8.2 cde	16.9 def	4.5 de	22.8 cd	5.3 b-e
Honey Treat	RG	20.8	7.5 b-e	25.6 ab	8.4 cde	20.8 bcd	5.3 a-d	25.6 abc	6.0 ab
Honey Select	SW	20.8	8.2 bcd	25.1 b	9.2 a-d	17.4 def	4.5 cde	25.4 bc	5.8 a-d
Infinite Delight II	MA	25.3	8.3 a-e	29.6 a	9.1 a-e	23.3 ab	5.6 abc	29.6 ab	6.4 a
Luscious	MM	19.5	8.0 b-e	23.1 bc	8.8 b-e	18.4 c-f	5.2 a-d	23.1 cd	6.0 ab
Precious Gem	MM	21.0	7.6 b-e	22.8 bc	8.0 de	20.2 b-e	5.3 a-d	22.8 cd	5.6 a-e
Providence	RG	18.7	8.6 ab	21.0 cd	9.2 a-d	16.9 def	4.9 a-e	21.0 de	5.6 a-e
Renaissance	HR	26.1	9.6 a	29.2 a	10.3 a	24.9 a	5.4 abc	29.2 a	6.0 ab
WH 0807	RG	20.5	8.3 bc	22.8 bc	8.7 b-e	20.5 bcd	5.5 ab	22.8 cd	5.8 abc

Probability		0.14	0.003	0.15	0.0012	0.004	0.0003	0.12	0.0003
C.V. (%)		15	12	12	11	17	14	12	12

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 29. Husk characteristics of se sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2005 sugar enhanced sweetcorn performance trial.

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

Accord	MM	2.0 ab⁵	2.0 cd	2.5 bc	74 de	7.5 cde
Avalon	RG	1.8 c	2.3 bc	2.1 cde	91 ab	7.9 abc
BC 0805 VP	RG	1.8 c	3.1 a	3.0 a	90 ab	8.1 ab
BC 1136	RG	1.9 bc	2.2 bc	3.0 a	94 ab	7.8 abc
Bon Jour	MM	1.9 bc	1.2 ef	2.0 def	96 ab	7.5 cde
Brocade	MM	2.0 ab	2.4 bc	2.4 cd	68 e	7.8 abc
Buccaneer	MM	2.0 ab	1.3 def	2.3 cde	86 bcd	7.0 ef
Charisma	SW	2.0 ac	0.9 f	2.3 cde	90 abc	6.9 ef
Colonial	RG	2.0 ab	1.7 cde	3.0 a	99 ab	8.3 a
Exotic 65	MA	2.0 ab	0.8 f	2.1 cde	97 ab	6.8 f
Harris 1001	HR	2.0 ab	1.3 def	2.5 bc	92 ab	7.5 cde
Honey Treat	RG	2.0 ab	1.3 def	1.9 ef	92 ab	7.1 def
Honey Select	SW	2.0 ab	1.5 c-f	1.9 ef	89 abc	7.1 def
Infinite Delight II	MA	2.0 ab	1.0 ef	1.9 ef	100 ab	7.1 c-f
Luscious	MM	2.1 a	1.3 def	2.0 def	93 ab	7.1 def
Precious Gem	MM	2.0 ab	1.2 ef	1.6 f	99 a	6.9 f
Providence	RG	2.0 ab	2.9 ab	2.4 cd	88 abc	7.8 abc
Renaissance	HR	2.1 a	2.0 cd	2.0 def	78 cde	7.6 bcd
WH 0807	RG	1.9 bc	1.7 cde	2.9 ab	94 ab	8.0 abc

Probability		0.03	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001
C.V. (%)		9	38	13	7	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.

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Table 30. Ear characteristics of se sweetcorn in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2005 sugar enhanced sweetcorn performance trial.

Hybrid	Seed source¹	Ear length	Ear diameter	Average rows of kernels	Tip unfilled	Brix score²	Kernel color	Kernel yellow intensity³	Ear overall score
		-------- inches --------			inches			1 to 3	1 to 10

Accord	MM	8.1 cd⁴	1.93 b	17.5 ab	0.0 a	21.7	bi	1.5	7.4 cd
Avalon	RG	8.6 ab	1.85 bcd	16.5 a-d	0.0 a	21.3	w	--	8.1 a
BC 0805 VP	RG	8.5 abc	1.82 cde	16.0 a-d	0.0 a	19.6	bi	1.5	8.0 ab
BC 1136	RG	8.5 abc	1.83 b-e	17.5 ab	0.2 ab	22.2	bi	1.5	7.3 d
Bon Jour	MM	7.6 efg	1.80 def	17.0 abc	0.0 a	20.5	bi	1.5	7.6 a-d
Brocade	MM	7.6 efg	1.93 b	17.0 abc	0.0 a	21.8	bi	1.5	7.5 bcd
Buccaneer	MM	7.6 fg	1.89 bcd	17.5 ab	0.0 a	22.4	bi	1.5	7.6 a-d
Charisma	SW	8.0 c-f	1.85 b-e	16.7 a-d	0.0 a	22.9	bi	1.5	8.3 a
Colonial	RG	8.3 bcd	1.71 f	14.5 de	0.0 a	21.5	bi	1.5	7.9 abc
Exotic 65	MA	7.4 g	1.72 f	12.5 e	0.0 a	19.5	bi	1.4	7.1 d
Harris 1001	HR	7.9 def	1.73 ef	15.0 cd	0.0 a	20.2	bi	1.5	8.0 ab
Honey Treat	RG	8.1 cde	1.80 def	16.0 a-d	0.0 a	20.5	y	1.6	7.5 bcd
Honey Select	SW	8.9 a	1.94 abc	17.5 ab	1.3 c	19.2	y	1.5	7.3 cd
Infinite Delight II	MA	8.0 c-g	1.78 def	17.0 abc	0.4 b	20.7	y	1.5	7.5 a-d
Luscious	MM	7.6 fg	2.04 a	18.0 a	0.0 a	19.9	bi	1.5	7.5 bcd
Precious Gem	MM	8.2 bcd	1.88 bcd	16.0 a-d	0.0 a	22.4	bi	1.5	7.5 bcd
Providence	RG	8.3 bcd	1.81 def	15.5 bcd	0.0 a	20.1	bi	1.5	7.6 a-d
Renaissance	HR	7.5 fg	1.71 f	12.5 e	0.0 a	17.8	bi	1.6	8.1 a
WH 0807	RG	8.0 def	1.84 bcd	16.0 a-d	0.0 a	20.0	w	--	8.1 a

Probability		<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	<0.0001	0.08		0.42	0.02
C.V. (%)		5	4	9	146	10		4	5

¹See Appendix A for a list of seed sources.

²The Brix score is a measure of the soluble solids and is usually related to sweetness - higher Brix equals sweeter.

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. The tip shape and yellow intensity

did not differ significantly among hybrids.

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