The Effects of Fertilizer and Moisture on the Yield of Sweet Corn

Sweet corn is rapidly becoming an important cash crop in many of the irrigated regions of the intermountain West. The lacome from this crop is relatively small in comparison to that from other major agricultural products; however, sweet corn production has a definite place in the economy of the region. One of the factors limiting increasing acreage of sweet corn in many areas is low yields. Yields have been increased naterially in recent years with the development of hybrid varieties, superior to the standard varieties previously used. Better cultural practices are improving yields, but much remains to be done in this phase of the work. Plant growth is affected by many complex factors, two of which are soil fertility and moisture. A considerable number of investigations have been carried out where either fertility or moisture effects have been studied independently. Four studies have been made where the two factors have been studied jointly in the same experiment. Recent trends in experimental research tend to emphasize the value of studying two or more factors at the same time, thereby making it possible to study interaction that otherwise would not have been observed. This study was an attempt to determine the effects of various soil fertility and soil moisture levels on the yield of sweet corn. These factors were studied simultaneously. By studying the relationships that exist between moisture and fertility, it is theoretically possible to arrive at the optimum level for both factors, thus obtaining maximum yields. Studies leading to the data reported in this paper were conducted on Nibley silty clay loam at the Utah State Agricultural College Forage Crops Experimental Farm near Nibley, Utah.