Growth and yield of baby corn as influenced by nitrogen topdressing

Abstract

Baby corn maize (Zea mays L.) is a highly profitable alternative to farmers due to its short crop duration, being harvested at the juvenile stage. It demands large amounts of nutrients in a short time, especially nitrogen, which is responsible for the rapid development of crop. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of topdressing application of different doses of nitrogen on the vegetative and spikelet productivity features in the baby corn crop in Janaúba-Minas Gerais. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications and four treatments. The treatments comprised four doses of nitrogen (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg ha-1 N applied as urea) top dressed at the V6 (sixty leave with visible auricle) growth stage, which occurs 30 days after sowing the seed. Nitrogen topdressing doses did not interfere in vegetative characteristics of baby corn cultivar Al Bandeirante, but the productivity of spikelet responded to the increasing doses of nitrogen, being the highest productivity at a dose of 120 kg ha-1 N.