Presowing Seed Treatments to Enhance Supersweet Sweet Corn Seed and Seedling Quality

Abstract

Poor emergence and low seedling vigor are characteristics of many supersweet sweet corn (Zea mays L.) cultivars carrying the shrunken-2 (sh2) gene. Four sh2 sweet corn cultivar seeds [`How Sweet It Is' (HSII), `Crisp N' Sweet 711' (CNS-711), `Sweet Belle' (SB), and `Dazzle' (DZ)] were solid-matrix-primed (SMP), SMP with sodium hypochlorite (SMPcl), treated with a fungicide combination (F) (Imazalil + Captan + Apron + Thiram), or primed with the aforementioned fungicides (SMPf). The seed treatments were tested in the laboratory and the field. Seed imbibition and leachate electrical conductivity were lower in SMP seeds than in nonprimed seeds. In the field, emergence percentage and rate of CNS-711 and SB (high-vigor seeds) were not improved by the seed treatments compared to the nontreated seeds. Emergence percentage and rate of HSII and DZ (considered low-vigor seeds) were improved as a result of SMPcl, SMPf, or F treatments compared to nonprimed seeds. Compared to the F treatment, the SMPcl presowing treatment increased DZ seedling emergence rate and percentage. The combined SMP and seed disinfection via NaOCl seems to be a promising fungicide seed-treatment substitute that improves the stand establishment and seedling vigor of sh2 sweet corn cultivars. Chemical names used: 1-[2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(2-propenyloxy)ethyl]-1 H imidazole (Imazalil); N-[(trichloromethyl)thio]-4-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboximide(Captan); N- (2,6-dimethylphenyl)- N -(methoxyacetyl)alanine methyl ester (Apron); tetramethylthiuram disulfide (Thiram).