Effect of year and technological factors on the yield and agronomic traits of sweet corn (Zea mays L. Convar. saccharata Koern.) varieties in a long-term experiment

Abstract

The effect of three technological factors (sowing date, fertilization, crop density) and two genotypes was examined on the yield and agronomic traits of sweet corn grown on chernozem soil in the Hajdúság region of Hungary. The experiments, conducted at the Látókép Research Site of the University of Debrecen, involved two sowing dates (end of April, end of May), six fertilization levels (control, N30 + PK, N60 + PK, N90 + PK, N120 + PK, N150 + PK) and two plant density levels (45 thousand ha−1, 65 thousand ha−1). Both hybrids used (Jumbo and Enterprise) belong to the mid-late maturity group. Compared to the 30-year average, the climate was dry and warm in 2009. Moisture deficiency had an adverse effect on the yield of crops sown at the second sowing date. By contrast, the second year (2010) was very humid; the precipitation was 184 mm above the 30-year average and the temperature was average.In the dry year the highest yield was obtained with Jumbo for both sowing dates (27253 kg−1, 20921 kg ha−1), while in 2010 Enterprise gave the highest yield (23437 kg−1, 22237 kg ha−1) for both sowing dates. The correlation between the technological factors, the yield and agronomic traits was analysed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.