Positive sweet corn response with selected climate-smart agricultural practices

To sustain agriculture for future generations and reduce the adverse impacts on soil health and the environment, there is a need to adopt sustainable and climate-smart agricultural practices. A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of organic amendments (chicken and dairy manures and biochar) on the soil physicochemical properties, sweet corn (Zea mays) growth, and yield parameters at Prairie View A&M University, Texas. Two rates of biochar (2.5 and 5 t ha⁻¹) and two types of manure (chicken and dairy) applied at three rates (0, 224, and 448 kg total N ha⁻¹) were used in a factorial design with three replications. Plant height, period for each vegetative growth stage, leaf soil plant analysis development, time to reach 50% tasseling and 50% silking stage, cob length, cob diameter, sugar content, and biomass were measured. The results showed that plant biomass was significantly affected by biochar rate, while plant height, cob length, and cob diameter were significantly affected by manure rates. Sweet corn reached tasseling and silking stages earlier in chicken manure-treated plots than the dairy manure plots. However, the sugar content was significantly affected by both biochar and manure rates. Furthermore, results revealed a strong positive correlation between plant height and cob length, diameter, and biomass; however, there was a negative correlation with tasseling and silking days. Soil phosphorus, total nitrogen, and potassium had a relatively positive correlation with plant growth parameters. Findings showed that different types and rates of amendments significantly influenced sweet corn growth parameters and soil nutrient status, highlighting the importance of adopting climate-smart agricultural practices for improved crop yield and soil health.