Effects of mycorrhiza, organo-mineral and NKP fertilizer on the performance and post harvest quality of sweetcorn

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out to assess the effects of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM), Organo-mineral fertilizer (OMF) and NPK (15:15:15), on the performance and post-harvest quality of sweet corn. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with mycorrhiza as main plot and fertilizer combinations as treatments. VAM inocula were applied at a rate of 888.88 kg ha-1, OMF at 2000 kg ha-1 and NPK (15:15:15) at 400kg ha-1. Storability of the sweet corn was evaluated at open shelf (25-27°C), normal refrigeration (40°C) and deep freezing conditions (0°C). Results showed that there were significant differences (p <0.05) between mycorrhiza and non mycorrhiza. Across mycorrhiza treatment, the highest yields of free corn ears were obtained with the complementary use of OMF and NPK (15:15:15). Fertilizer application had significant effect on the storage life of sweet corn, however, sweet corn stored by freezing at 0°C had the best storage properties in terms of firmness, weight loss and disease incidence.   Key words: Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza; sweetcorn yield; Organo-mineral fertilizer.