Evaluation of some agro-morphological parameters in commercial sweet corn (Zea mays L. saccharata Sturt) hybrids under greenhouse conditions

Abstract

Sweet corn (Zea mays (L.) var. saccharata) is a cereal grown in almost every region of the world and is widely cultivated for human consumption. Moreover, it serves as both a raw and processed ingredient in the global food industry. Its breeding programs optimize yields and many agro-morphological traits through the development of hybrids, which contributes to its worldwide popularity. This study aimed to assess some agro-morphological parameters of 13 commercial sweet corn hybrids during two years under greenhouse conditions. These parameters included plant height (PH), stem diameter (SD), first ear height (FEH), leaf width (LW), number of nodes (NN), number of ears (NE), number of leaves (NL) and tassel initiation day (TI). The two-year average results showed that PH and FEH had a mean of 167.96 and 61.48 cm, ranging from 133.12 to 205.5 and 77 to 31.83 cm, respectively. For SD, the average was 21.28 mm with the highest value recorded by Khan (28.75 mm), followed by Driver (24.62 mm). The earliest TI was observed by Khan (52), succeeded by Challenger, Fragman and SF 2070 with same value of 55 days. In addition, there was a significant variation (at least P≤0.05) for all traits across the two years. The highest values were observed in SF 2070 for LW, Messenger for NN, 10514 for NE and Febris for NL. Based on the findings of this study, different sweet corn hybrids may be recommended for both breeding programs and cultivation, depending on their specific agro‑morphological traits.

Keywords

• Maize
• Plant height
• Number of nodes
• Number of leaves
• Leaf width

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