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Performance of Sweet Breed Sweet Corn Cultivars, Plateau Experiment Station, 2000 Charles A. Mullins Interpretative Summary The highest yield was produced by ‘HMX 5349WES’. Ears of ‘HMX 6357BSB’ were smaller than ears of most other cultivars. Ratings of ear appearance indicated that ‘Sweet Ice’ a nice white eared cultivar had a very attractive internal appearance after ears were shucked. All cultivars generally performed well. Introduction Sweet Breed corn is a relatively new type of sweet corn for fresh market usage. The first Sweet Breed cultivars that were released performed well, and additional cultivars have been developed and released in recent years. Cultivars evaluated previously had high yields of large ears, and flavor was excellent. Several Sweet Breed type cultivars are recommended for production in Tennessee. An experiment was conducted at the Plateau Experiment Station at Crossville, TN in 2000 to evaluate performance of five Sweet Breed type sweet corn cultivars. Materials and Methods The site was prepared for planting using conventional tillage in late April. Fertilizer was broadcast at 600 lb/A of 15-15-15 before final disking on May 3. Plot size was one row, 20 ft long, and rows were spaced 30 inches apart. Seed of the cultivars was obtained from commercial seedsmen, and was planted on May 4 at the rate of 70 seed per row using a cone-type mechanical planter. Experimental plot design was a randomized complete block with four replications. Herbicides applied on May 5 were atrazine (Aatrex) at 1 lb ai/A and metolachlor (Dual II) at 2 lb ai/A. Insecticides were applied on a 3 to 5 day frequency and included esfenvalerate (Asana) at 0.05 lb ai/A and lambda-cyhalothrin (Warrior T) at 0.03 lb ai/A. Records taken on the Sweet Breed cultivars included plant stand, plant height, ear height, ear diameter, number and weight of ears, ear length, ear diameter, external ear appearance, internal ear appearance, % fill, and ear cover. All data were analyzed by analysis of variance procedures, and cultivar means were separated by Duncan’s multiple range tests at the 0.05 level of probability.
Results and Discussion Plant stand of ‘HMX 6357BSB’ was above the desired level of 23,500 plants per acre and higher than for ‘Sweet Symphony’ and ‘HMX 5349WES’ (Table 1). Plant height was largest for ‘HMX 5349WES’ and shortest for ‘Sweet Symphony’. Plants of ‘Sweet Ice’ had a larger diameter than plants of ‘HMX 5349WES'. Yield of ‘HMX 5349WSB’ was higher than yield of all cultivars except ‘Sweet Symphony’. Ears of ‘HMX 6357BSB’ weighed less than ears of all cultivars except ‘Sweet Symphony’. Ears length, shuck cover, and external appearance rating were not significantly different due to cultivar (Table 2). Ear diameter of ‘Sweet Ice’, ‘HMX 5349WES’, and ‘Sweet Riser’ was larger than ear diameter of the other cultivars. The internal ear appearance was rated highest for ‘Sweet Ice’. This white eared cultivar had a very attractive appearance after shucking. The percentage ear fill of ‘HMX 66357BSB’, ‘Sweet Ice’ and ‘Sweet Riser’ was higher than the ear fill of ‘Sweet Symphony’ and ‘HMX 5349WES’.
z Means within columns followed by the same letter are not significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range tests at the 0.05 level of probability.
Table 2. Ear characteristics of Sweet Breed sweet corn cultivars evaluated at The University of Tennessee Plateau Experiment Station at Crossville, 2000.
x Ratings on a scale of 1 to 10, 10=most desirable.z Means within columns followed by the same letter are not significantly different by Duncan’s multiple range tests at the 0.05 level of probability |
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