Corn cultivation method [corn cultivation ]

 

 What is the method of cultivating corn?

It is not right to do without knowing the method of corn cultivation. You must know the rules to get full results.

Crop Name: Maize

Nutritional value: The nutritional value  of maize is higher than that of rice and wheat. It contains about 11% non-vegetarian content. Meat contains more essential amino acids, tryptophan and lysine. Besides, yellow colored corn kernels contain about 90 mg of carotene or vitamin "A" per 100 grams.

Herb count:

Uses:  Maize kernels are used as human food and maize stalks and green leaves are used as high quality cattle fodder. It also has considerable importance as poultry and fish feed. About 2 lakh 70 thousand tons of corn grains are required annually to meet the demand of animals, chicken farms and fish. Maize land is increasing rapidly in Bangladesh.

Suitable land and soil:  Sandy loam and loam soils are suitable for maize cultivation. Care should be taken that water does not accumulate on the ground.

Introduction of varieties:  By collection and selection of maize varieties, BARI has till date developed several improved varieties to meet the growing demand of Bangladesh.

Corn varieties:

Bari Hybrid Maize-5: A high yielding hybrid variety approved in 2004. The life span of this variety is 140-145 days in Rabi season and 95-105 days in Kharip season. The seeds of the variety are bright attractive orange in color, flint in nature and 1000 seeds weigh 290-310 grams. The yield per hectare is 9-10 tons in rabi season and 7-7.5 tons in kharif season.

Bari Hybrid Maize-7: This variety was developed by unidirectional hybridization from parental lines collected and selected from International Wheat and Maize Development Center and released in 2006. The life span of this variety is 135-141 days in Rabi season and 95-100 days in Kharif season. The seeds of the variety are attractive yellow in color, flint in nature and 1000 seeds weigh 370-390 grams. The yield per hectare is 10.5-11.5 tonnes in rabi season.

Bari Hybrid Maize-9: This variety was developed by unidirectional hybridization from parental lines collected and selected from International Wheat and Maize Development Center and released in 2007. The life span of this variety is 145-150 days in Rabi season and 105-110 days in Kharif season. The seeds of the variety are attractive yellow in color, dented in nature and weight of 1000 seeds is 370-375 grams. The yield per hectare is 11.5-12.5 tonnes in rabi season.

Bari Hybrid Maize-10: This variety was developed and released in 2009 by crossbreeding Bari's own inbred lines collected from the International Wheat and Maize Development Center. The life span of this variety is 145-150 days in Rabi season and 100-110 days in Kharif season. The seeds of the variety are attractive yellow in color, flint in nature. The yield per hectare is 10-11.5 tonnes in rabi season.

Bari Hybrid Maize-11: This variety was developed by unidirectional hybridization from parental lines collected and selected from International Wheat and Maize Development Center and released in 2009. The life span of this variety is 150-155 days in rabi season. The seeds of the variety are yellow in color, flint in nature. The yield per hectare is 10.5-11.5 tonnes in rabi season.

Bari Hybrid Maize-12: Low irrigated productive and medium drought tolerant high yielding white grain flint variety. It was released in 2016. The life span of this variety is 140-145 days in rabi season. The yield of the variety is 8.1-8.5 tonnes per hectare with a single application of irrigation (before fruiting) under drought conditions and 10-11.1 tonnes per hectare under normal irrigation.

Bari Hybrid Maize-13: Low irrigated productive and medium drought tolerant high yielding white grain flint variety. It was released in 2016. The life span of this variety is 145-152 days in rabi season. The yield of the variety is 8.2-8.9 tonnes per hectare under a single application of irrigation (before fruiting) under drought conditions and 10.1-11.2 tonnes per hectare under normal irrigation. Even after mocha matures, the plant and leaves of the variety remain green which is suitable for use as cattle fodder.

Bari Hybrid Maize-14: The variety is more heat tolerant and medium yielding at flowering stage in Kharif season. It was released in 2017. The life span of this variety is 140 days in rabi season and 115 days in kharif season. The grain of the variety is white in color and semi-dent in nature. The variety is resistant to leaf blight. The average yield per hectare is 10.84 tonnes in rabi season and 10.52 tonnes in kharif season.

Bari Hybrid Maize-15: The variety is more heat tolerant and high yielding at flowering stage in Kharif season. It was released in 2017. The life span of this variety is 148 days in rabi season and 121 days in kharif season. The seeds of the variety are yellow in color and semi-dent in nature. The variety is resistant to leaf blight. The average yield per hectare is 12.75 tonnes in rabi season and 12.07 tonnes in kharif season. Most of the leaves of the variety are green when mature, making it suitable for use as cattle fodder.

Bari Sweet Maize-1: This variety was selected through selection process from germplasm collected from Thailand and approved in 2002. Sweet corn is eaten raw. So mocha should be harvested when the seeds are soft. Edible mocha can be harvested within 20-25 days of silking i.e. only 115-120 days after sowing. Its yellow seeds are rich in vitamin A. The variety yields 10-10.5 tonnes per hectare in rabi season (shelled young mocha) and about 25 tonnes/ha of green fodder.

Sowing time:  Mid-Ashwin to mid-Agrahayan (October-November) in rabi season and Falgun to mid-Chaitra (mid-February-March) in kharif season are suitable sowing times.  

 Fertilizer management : The amount of different types of fertilizers in corn cultivation is given below:    

                      Quantity/ha/kg

Fertilizer Name	Composite Robi	Composite Kharif	Hybrid   Robi
Urea	১৭২-৩১২	২১৬-২৬৪	৫০০-৫৫০
TSP	১৬৮-২১৬	১৩২-২১৬	২৪০-২৬০
MP	৯৬-১৪৪	৭২-১২০	১৮০-২২০
Gypsum	১৪৪-১৬৮	৯৬-১৪৪	২৪০-২৬০
Zinc sulfate	১০-১৫	৭-১২	১০-১৫
boric acid	৫-৭	৫-৭	৫-৭
dung	৪-৬টন	৪-৬টন	৪-৬টন

Fertilizer application method:  At the last stage of land preparation, one third of the approved urea and all other fertilizers should be sprinkled on the land. Remaining urea should be applied in 2 equal installments. The first installment should be applied after 25-30 days of seed germination and the second installment after 40-50 days of seed germination. Excess seedlings should be removed from the land within 30 days of germination. The land should be kept weed free until the seedlings are one month old.
 

Irrigation and Weed Management  : Irrigation during rabi season is essential to obtain the expected yield of high yielding varieties of maize. Invented varieties can be given 3-4 irrigations as follows.
 

First irrigation      : 15-20 days after sowing (4-6 leaf stage)

Second irrigation     : 30-35 days after sowing (8-12 leaf stage)

Third irrigation     : 60-70 days after sowing (mocha emergence stage)

Fourth irrigation       : 85-95 days after sowing (pre-set stage)
 

Care must be taken not to cause waterlogging in the land at any time during flowering and seeding of corn. If weeds appear in the land, they should be suppressed with nirani.
 

Insect and spider management  : In the case of corn seedlings, if attacked by spider mites, it should be killed by hand.
 

Disease Management: 

Maize Seed Rot and Seedling Disease Control:  Seed rot and seedling damage usually reduce the number of maize plants in the field. A variety of seed and soil borne fungi such as Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Fusarium, Penicillium etc. cause seeding, seedling blight, diseases and root rot diseases. If the amount of sap in the soil is high and the soil temperature is low, it takes a long time for the seedlings of the sown seeds to grow. As a result, the level of fungal attack increases during this time.

remedy

1. Healthy, vigorous and blight-free seeds and corn seed rot resistant spectrum and seal varieties should be used.

2. The land should be well prepared and sown in moderate moisture and temperature (more than 13C).

3. Seed treatment with Thiram or Vitavex (0.25%) at the rate of 2.5-3.0 g per kg of seed greatly reduces the attack of maize seed rot disease.

Control of leaf blight of maize:  Helminthosporium tarsicum and Helminthosporium maydis cause this disease. Corn leaf scorch disease is more common in our country due to the first fungus. Elongated gray spots appear on the lower leaves of plants infested with Helminthosporium tarscum. Later it spreads to the upper part of the tree. If the incidence of the disease is high, the leaves dry up prematurely and the plant dies. The germs of this disease survive for many days in the affected part of the plant. The spores or conidia of the bacterium can spread far to healthy plants with the help of wind. If the air humidity is high and 18-27 degrees C. The attack of this disease increases with temperature.
 Remedy:

1. Disease resistant varieties (Mohar) should be cultivated.

2. Infected crops should be sprayed with Tilt 250 EC (0.04%) 2-3 times after 15 days.

3. Infected plants should be removed from the land or burned after harvesting corn.

Suppression of corn mocha and grain rot diseases: 

Mocha and grain rot diseases reduce maize yield, seed quality and food quality. Various types of fungi such as Diplodia medis, Fusarium moniliformi etc. cause this disease. Infected mocha peels and grains become discolored. Grains are not nourished, shriveled or cracked. Many times the presence of fungi between or on different grains of mocha can be seen with the naked eye. The attack of this disease increases if the rainfall is high from the time of emergence to ripening of the maize plant. This disease becomes widespread when the tree falls to the ground due to insect or bird attack or stem rot disease. The germs of this disease live in seeds or abandoned parts of infected plants. If corn is cultivated repeatedly in the same land, this disease spreads rapidly.

 

remedy

1. To avoid the outbreak of this disease, it is not right to cultivate corn repeatedly in the same land.

2. Insects and birds should be prevented from attacking the land.

3. When the corn is ripe, it should be cut as soon as possible.

4. After harvesting, the abandoned part of the corn should be burnt.
 

Maize Stem Rot Disease Control  : This disease is caused by different species of fungi such as Diplodia maydis, Fusarium moniliformi. Early symptoms include rotting of stems and trees falling to the ground. In our country, this disease is more common in Kharif season. Fungal stem rot disease is more common when soil is high in nitrogen and low in potassium.
 

Remedy:

1. Seeds should be treated with fungicide Vitavex-200 and applied.

2. Fertilizers should be used at a balanced rate, especially nitrogen and potash should be applied in moderation.

3. After harvesting the corn, the residue should be burnt.

4. Insects attacking the roots and stems should be suppressed.

5. Approved fungicide should be sprayed 2-3 times on affected land.

Harvesting: In harvesting  corn for grain, Mocha is ready to harvest when the cob is bright straw color and the leaves are slightly yellow. In this condition, black spots will be seen at the base of the seeds spread from Mocha. Maize can be harvested when the pods of the maize plant are 75-80% mature. As seeds, large and nutritious seeds should be collected from the middle part of Mocha.