Ca. Parera et Dj. Cantliffe, PRESOWING SEED TREATMENTS TO ENHANCE SUPERSWEET SWEET CORN SEED AND SEEDLING QUALITY, HortScience, 29(4), 1994, pp. 277-278
Poor emergence and low seedling vigor are characteristics of many supe
rsweet sweet corn (Zea mays L.) cultivars carrying the shrunken-2 (sh2
) gene. Four sh2 sweet corn cultivar seeds ['How Sweet It Is' (HSII),
'Crisp N' Sweet 711' (CNS-711), 'Sweet Belle' (SB), and 'Dazzle' (DZ)]
were solid-matrix-primed (SMP), SMP with sodium hypochlorite (SMP(cl)
), treated with a fungicide combination (F) (Imazalil + Captan + Apron
+ Thiram), or primed with the aforementioned fungicides (SMP(f)). The
seed treatments were tested in the laboratory and the field. Seed imb
ibition and leachate electrical conductivity were lower in SMP seeds t
han in nonprimed seeds. In the field, emergence percentage and rate of
CNS-711 and SB (high-vigor seeds) were not improved by the seed treat
ments compared to the nontreated seeds. Emergence percentage and rate
of HSII and DZ (considered low-vigor seeds) were improved as a result
of SMP(cl), SMP(f), or F treatments compared to nonprimed seeds. Compa
red to the F treatment, the SMP(cl) presowing treatment increased DZ s
eedling emergence rate and percentage. The combined SMP and seed disin
fection via NaOCl seems to be a promising fungicide seed-treatment sub
stitute that improves the stand establishment and seedling vigor of sh
2 sweet corn cultivars. Chemical names used: [2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2
-(2-propenyloxy)ethyl]-1H imidazole (Imazalil); chloromethyl)thio]-4-c
yclohexene-1,2-dicarboximide (Captan); N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-N-(metho
xyacetyl)alanine methyl ester (Apron); tetramethylthiuram disulfide (T
hiram).