Abstract

An investigation was conducted at the Coconut Research Station, Balaramapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala under Kerala Agricultural University during kharif season of 2015 to study the feasibility of cultivating baby corn as an intercrop in coconut garden, to assess the effect of varieties and spacing on the growth and productivity of baby corn and to work out the economics of cultivation. The field experiments were laid out in randomized block design with nine treatments replicated thrice during summer (March to May) and kharif season (August to October) in 2015. The treatments comprised combinations of three varieties of maize as baby corn and three spacings. The three varieties were: Rasi-4212 (V1), G-5414 (V2) and CO-6 (V3) and the three spacings were 30 x 20 cm (S1), 45 x 20 cm (S2) and 60 x 20 cm (S3). The plant height, number of leaves, leaf area index, dry matter content and green fodder production were, in general, significantly higher for the variety V3 (CO-6). Among the varieties, the V2 (G-5414) produced significantly higher cob yield with husk, marketable cob yield, net income and benefit: cost ratio during both the seasons which indicated the suitability of this variety especially bred for baby corn. Generally, wider spacing (60 x 20 cm) produced significantly higher plant height and number of leaves, while S2 (45 x 20 cm) resulted in significantly higher cob yield with husk, marketable cob yield, net income and benefit: cost ratio during both the seasons. In general, the baby corn variety G-5414 and a spacing of 45 x 20 cm were found to be superior for intercropping in coconut garden. In terms of yield and economic returns, maize hybrid CO-6 also performed well when cultivated as intercrop in coconut garden.