Abstract
The performance of two sweet corn (Zea mays var. saccharata) cultivars grown in the Rio Grande Valley in Spring 1997 were evaluated under three tillage practices. On 25 Apr. 1997, `Champ' and `Sensor' seeds were sown on 0.76-m row centers of 4.6 x 91-m (12 x 300-ft) plots which had been in continuous conventional (CT), minimum tillage (MT), and/or no tillage (NT) since Aug. 1994. All production inputs were similar except tillage practice. Ears were harvested beginning 16 Jun 1997. Cultivars differed in leaf greenness, plant stand (P < 0.11), ear diameter, length, and dry matter, percentage of total yield at first harvest, season yield, and ears/ha. `Sensor' ears had higher concentrations (dry-mass basis) of total N, K, S, NO3, and B, but lower concentrations of Mg (P < 0.06), Ca, Fe, and Mn than did `Champ'. Amaranthus spp. weed populations were higher in `Champ' then in `Sensor' tillage treatments. MT and CT resulted in greater ear attributes, yield, ears/ha, and less corn earworm damage, lower ear S concentrations, and fewer total weeds/ha than corn grown with NT. Plant stand was highest in CT plots. Weed populations of Panicum and Amaranthus spp., but not Texas tridens [Tridens texanus (S. Wats.) Nash] or common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), were higher in NT-grown corn than MT- or CT-grown corn.
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