TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of non-leguminous cover crops on yield and quality of baby corn (Zea mays l.) grown under subtropical conditions
AU - Singh, Atinderpal
AU - Deb, Sanjit K.
AU - Singh, Sukhbir
AU - Sharma, Parmodh
AU - Kang, Jasjit S.
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to the Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana for providing field and laboratory facilities for the experiment. We gratefully acknowledge the funding support from the ?Farm Fresh Foods? (Ladhowal, Punjab) to carry out this research during 2014?2015. We are also thankful to graduate students and technical staff of the Department of Agronomy, PAU, for their assistance during the field experiment. The constructive comments from three anonymous reviewers have improved this manuscript and are greatly appreciated.
Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: We are grateful to the Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana for providing field and laboratory facilities for the experiment. We gratefully acknowledge the funding support from the “Farm Fresh Foods” (Ladhowal, Punjab) to carry out this research during 2014–2015. We are also thankful to graduate students and technical staff of the Department of Agronomy, PAU, for their assistance during the field experiment. The constructive comments from three anonymous reviewers have improved this manuscript and are greatly appreciated.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - Effects of non-leguminous cover crops and their times of chopping on the yield and quality of no-till baby corn (Zea mays L.) were evaluated during two kharif seasons (May-August in 2014 and 2015) under subtropical climatic conditions of Punjab, India. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with four replications at Punjab Agricultural University’s Research Farm. Three cover crops (pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), fodder maize (Zea mays L.), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)) and the control (no cover crop) were in the main plots and chopping time treatments (25, 35, 45 days after planting (DAP)) in the subplots. During both kharif seasons, the yield (cob and fodder yield) and dry matter accumulation of baby corn following cover crop treatments, especially pearl millet, were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than the control, and improved with increments in chopping time from 25 to 45 DAP. The effect of cover crops on baby corn quality (i.e., protein, starch, total soluble solids, crude fiber, total solid, and sugar content) did not differ among treatments, while increasing increments in chopping time had a significant effect on the protein and sugar content of baby corn. The use of cover crops and increment in chopping time helped in enhancing topsoil quality, especially available nitrogen; yet, the effect of cover crops and their times of chopping on topsoil organic carbon, phosphorus, and potassium did not differ among treatments. During both seasons, there was no significant interaction between cover crop and time of chopping among treatments with respect to baby corn yield and quality, as well as topsoil quality parameters.
AB - Effects of non-leguminous cover crops and their times of chopping on the yield and quality of no-till baby corn (Zea mays L.) were evaluated during two kharif seasons (May-August in 2014 and 2015) under subtropical climatic conditions of Punjab, India. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with four replications at Punjab Agricultural University’s Research Farm. Three cover crops (pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), fodder maize (Zea mays L.), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)) and the control (no cover crop) were in the main plots and chopping time treatments (25, 35, 45 days after planting (DAP)) in the subplots. During both kharif seasons, the yield (cob and fodder yield) and dry matter accumulation of baby corn following cover crop treatments, especially pearl millet, were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than the control, and improved with increments in chopping time from 25 to 45 DAP. The effect of cover crops on baby corn quality (i.e., protein, starch, total soluble solids, crude fiber, total solid, and sugar content) did not differ among treatments, while increasing increments in chopping time had a significant effect on the protein and sugar content of baby corn. The use of cover crops and increment in chopping time helped in enhancing topsoil quality, especially available nitrogen; yet, the effect of cover crops and their times of chopping on topsoil organic carbon, phosphorus, and potassium did not differ among treatments. During both seasons, there was no significant interaction between cover crop and time of chopping among treatments with respect to baby corn yield and quality, as well as topsoil quality parameters.
KW - Baby corn
KW - Baby corn quality
KW - Baby corn yield
KW - Chopping
KW - Kharif season
KW - Non-leguminous cover crops
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85083331685&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/horticulturae6020021
DO - 10.3390/horticulturae6020021
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85083331685
VL - 6
JO - Horticulturae
JF - Horticulturae
SN - 2311-7524
IS - 2
M1 - 21
ER -