Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic traits and the popping expansion index of three Brazilian popcorn cultivars under different row spacings and plant populations. The trials were performed during two crop seasons, under field conditions. The experimental design used was a randomized complete block, in a split-split plot, with 27 treatments and four replicates. Treatments were represented in a triple factorial arrangement: three row spacings (0.40, 0.60, and 0.80 m), three plant populations (40,000, 60,000, and 80,000 plants per hectare), and three popcorn cultivars (IAC-TC 01, IAC 12, and Zelia). The increase in plant population causes a reduction in the number of grains per ear, lower prolificacy, and grain weight loss. Cultivar grain yield is affected by row spacing and popcorn plant population. Cultivar IAC 12 shows highest grain yield under row spacings of 0.40 and 0.60 m and plant population between 60,000 and 80,000 plants per hectare. The popping expansion index is not affected by row spacing or plant population.

Highlights

  • Popcorn yield and total production has greatly increased in Brazil (Mora & Scapim, 2007)

  • The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic traits and the popping expansion index PEI of three Brazilian popcorn cultivars under different row spacings and plant populations

  • The analysis showed different yield performance under this combination system for the popcorn cultivars tested

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Summary

Introduction

Popcorn yield and total production has greatly increased in Brazil (Mora & Scapim, 2007) This amount is still not enough to meet the domestic market needs, and a policy is to import popcorn mainly from Argentina and the USA (Scapim et al, 2006). The popping expansion index (PEI), represented by the volume of popcorn from the mass of kernels, is the main model to evaluate popcorn quality worldwide (Pereira Filho et al, 2010). This parameter was only officially implemented in the Brazilian national market recently (Sislegis, 2011).

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