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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp9 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Yield versus quality: Unravelling the nitrogen source trade-off in baby corn production

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.17044
Submitted
27 July 2026
Published
16-10-2026

Abstract

An experiment was conducted during summer 2026 at the Eastern Block of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, to study the effects of different organic nitrogen sources combined with inorganic fertiliser on the growth, yield and quality of baby corn. The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomised block design (FRBD) with two factors: organic sources (S1- poultry manure, S2- vermicompost, S3- pig manure, S4- goat manure) and organic-inorganic ratio of recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) (R1–50 : 50, R2 – 25 : 75). Three additional treatments (C1 - 100 % RDN through organic manure, C2 - 100 % RDN through inorganic fertiliser and C3- absolute control) were included outside the factorial structure and compared with treatment combinations using Dunnett’s test. Results revealed that the use of vermicompost significantly increased soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value (46.4), root length (52.5 cm), dry matter (95.0 g plant-1), baby corn yield (12642 kg ha-1) and green fodder yield (28326 kg ha-1) compared with the other sources. The percentage of baby corn yield and green fodder yield over absolute control were 148.6 % and 121.3 %, respectively. Between the two ratios, 25 % RDN through organic source recorded greater plant height, dry matter and baby corn yield, while 50 % RDN recorded higher ascorbic acid (32.9 mg 100 g-1) and total soluble solids (6.6 °Brix). These results indicate that vermicompost combined with inorganic fertiliser, particularly with 25 % of RDN supplied through vermicompost, can enhance the growth and yield of baby corn, whereas the 50 : 50 ratio may favour selected quality attributes, suggesting that integrated nutrient management practices can be adapted to specific production objectives in baby corn.

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