Influence of Soil Series and Potassium Levels on Quality Parameters of Sweet Corn in Soils of Konkan, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the potassium behavior in Konkan soils under exhaustive crop like sweet corn by application of potassium. This experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design, the factor A were different soil series and factor B were different potassium levels. The pots filled with air dried, ground, sieved and well mixed soil @ 30 kg pot-1. Recommended dose of nitrogen, phosphorus (200:60 kg N:P ha-1) and FYM (10 t ha-1) were applied for each pot. The objective of the experiment was to study the effect of different soil series and potassium levels on quality of sweat corn in soils of Konkan region of Maharashtra. The experimental results revealed that, the maximum values of quality parameters of sweet corn recorded by Palghar series (S2) viz., reducing sugar 1.71 and 1.70 %, non-reducing sugar 6.02 and 5.94 %, total sugar 7.72 and 7.64 %, protein content 13.04 and 12.77 % and starch content 78.51 and 78.01 %, respectively during the year 2014-15 and 2015-16. The application of potassium @ 90 kg K2O ha-1 (K3) recorded maximum values of quality parameters (viz., reducing, non-reducing, total sugar, protein and starch content) in sweet corn.