Baby corn single-cross hybrids yield in two plant densities

Two experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the effect of plant density on baby corn yield. The traits evaluated were: plant height, ear height, number of ears/plot, weight, length, and diameter of husked and dehusked ears of 21 hybrids, 13 inbred lines, and one commercial control. The experiments were set up in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The experimental plots consisted of rows with 25 and 50 plants, 5-m long, 0.90 m apart, in densities 1 and 2, respectively. The analysis of variance showed that plant densities significantly affected all traits (P<0.05), except for plant height and weight of husked ears. The hybrid 27Ax31B had the best performance in the density of 55,000 plants/ha, for husked and dehusked ears yield, while the 27Ax29B hybrid was better under 110,000 plants/ha, taking the same traits into consideration. The hybrids did not overcome the husked and dehusked ears yield of inbred 27A in both plant densities.