Corn remains a staple food to a number of Filipinos in some regions of the country especially in the Visayas where coconut is also abundant. Likewise, at present, there is a great demand of corn for livestock feeds in the country. Hence corn planting will always be one of the major activities in the farms.
Where there is a scarce land resource for planting corn, coconut lands offer a good opportunity for this purpose as the inter spaces between rows of coconut can accommodate about 6 to 9 rows of corn depending on the planting distance of coconut (i.e. 8 x 8 to 10 x 10 m sq).
CORN
LAND PREPARATION
- Plow the field once when soil moisture permits and harrow twice
- Make furrows at 0.75 m apart and two m away from base of coconut
- Practice conservation tillage (zero/minimum tillage) using Power herbicide in appropriate areas
SELECTION OF PLANTING MATERIALS
Use high yielding corn variety or hybrids with good quality seeds. Some of the varieties tested and their yields are: USM varieties (2.3-3.6 t/ha); IPBs (2-4 t/ha); SMC (2.8-3.6 t/ha) and Pioneers (3.7-4.0 t/ha).
PLANTING
- Basal fertilizer application: apply fertilizers in furrows at 3 bags 14-14-14 per ha and cover with thin layer of soil before planting
- Plant 2 seeds per hill on furrows at a distance of 20 cm between hills or 5.0 hills per linear meter (about 30,000-48,000 plts/ha) This should be thinned to one plant per hill two weeks after germination
MAINTENANCE
- Off-bar (plowshare away from furrows) on the 14th day after planting (DAP)
- Sidedress the remaining half of the fertilizer at two bags ammonium sulfate or one bag urea around 5-6 cm away from the corn plants just before hilling-up.
- Hill-up (plowshare towards the furrows) at 45 DAP to cover the fertilizer and to control weeds
- Monitor the plants for occurrence of pests (mostly corn borer) and diseases (downy mildew). Uproot and burn affected plants immediately. For pest infestation spray with any insecticide available
- Perform line weeding when necessary
HARVESTING
Harvest the ears at appropriate time usually 95-100 DAP when husks are already dried.
COCONUT
Separate fertilization by broadcast and fork-in method is necessary according to the following rates (per tree):
For more information, contact:
Agronomy, Soils and
Farming Systems Division
Philippine Coconut Authority
Davao Research Center
Bago Oshiro, Tugbok District,
Davao City 8000
Tel. No.: (082) 293-0161
E-mail: [email protected]