Sweet corn production and soil chemical properties under different management practices in dryland conditions of South Africa

Abstract

A field trial involving sweet corn was carried out at the University of Limpopo experimental farm over two-summer production seasons. The trial was conducted to assess the productivity of sweet corn under different management practices. Treatments consisted of cowpea varieties (Pan 311 and Red caloona), cropping systems (sole and intercropping) and cowpea-leaf pruning regimes (pruning and un-pruned). All treatment combinations were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Growth and yield data were collected from sweet corn during the course of the trial. During 2005/06 planting season, sweet corn intercropped with Red caloona gave higher grain yield of 770 kg ha-1 than Pan 311 intercropped plots. Similarly during 2006/07 planting season, sweet corn under Red caloona intercrop also had higher grain yield of 944 kg ha-1 than under Pan 311 intercrop while sole sweet corn plots had higher grain yield of 1115 kg ha-1 than intercropped plots. The cowpea variety (Red caloona) should be considered as the suitable variety for intercropping with sweet corn, when ears and grain yield of sweet corn are desired. Sweet corn and cowpea have great ability to reduce the amount of fertilizer N and K in the soil after their harvest.