Corn (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal crop of world and India after wheat and rice. Baby corn cultivation provides tremendous avenues for crop diversification, value addition and revenue generation as this new vegetable is becoming increasingly popular among progressive farmers around big cities. It is an ideal form of maize especially in peri-urban areas by providing good revenue to farmers. After the harvest of babies, the economics potential is further enhanced since it supplies green, soft, succulent, nutritious, palatable fodder with higher digestibility.
Among different states Rajasthan ranks first in respect of area, where in this crop occupies 10.5 lakh ha, with production of 19.5 lakh tonnes and productivity of 1860 kg ha-1 (Golada et al., 2013). Baby corn is an important crop of Thailand, Taiwan and India. Recently, baby corn has gained popularity as valuable vegetable in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Meghalaya states. Baby corn is the dehusked young cobs harvested within 2-3 days of silk emergence and are consumed as vegetable due to its sweet flavour. The earliness facilitates crop diversification, increase overall cropping intensity in a year and increases profitability.
Globally, 67 percent of maize produced is used for livestock feed, 25 percent for human consumption, industrial purpose and balance is mostly used as seed. Maize is an ideal fodder crop because of its high production potential, wider adaptability, quick growing nature, succulency, palatability and excellent fodder quality. Fodder is free from toxicants and can be safely fed to animals at any stage of crop growth. Quality fodder production plays an important role in dairy industry.
Baby corn has short growth duration offers an intensive rotation cultivation system which is an excellent solution for promoting economic and poverty alleviation in countries with high populations like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines. The other advantage of growing baby corn is its remaining biomass after harvesting. These green products can be used as feed for animal and aquaculture raising (Bindhani et al., 2007).
The lack of knowledge on production technology seems to be the major constraints for popularization among the growers. In order to popularize baby corn
cultivation among the farming community, it is essential to standardize its agro- techniques not only for its potential yield but also for its quality babies. It is believed that agronomy of baby corn is not much different from that of regular maize crop (Ashoka et al., 2008).
Overall crop nutrition plays a vital role in plant development and it is generally comprised of macronutrients and micronutrients with major role of macro ones, but the micronutrients (Zn, B, Co, Mn, Mo, Cu, Ni and Fe), even being required in smaller amounts are of equally vital for plant growth and development (Alloway, 2004). It is due to the fact that micronutrients not only enhance the grain yields but contribute to improvement of the quality in terms of grain nutrients as well (Baloch et al., 2008).
Corn being an exhaustive crop requires high quantity of nutrients particularly nitrogen among major and zinc among micronutrients. Since the introduction of the green revolution in Asia, cultivation of high yielding genotypes, improved agricultural mechanization and production of macronutrient fertilizers with low impurities of trace elements has resulted in higher crop production per unit area and greater depletion of plant available nutrients (Cakmak, 2008; Khoshgoftarmanesh et al. 2009).
Micronutrients can increase grain yield up to 50%, as well as increase macronutrients use efficiency. Therefore, we can pursue the role of micronutrients in balanced combinations for getting optimal production. Especially the uses of specific mineral nutrients have become crucial for better plant growth (Bybordi and Mamedov, 2010) which can be supplemented as a chemical fertilizer in various cropping zones. Among the micronutrients, zinc is an essential nutrient for the standard and healthy growth and development of plants. Zinc has a key role as a structural constituent or regulatory co-factor of a wide range of enzymes and proteins in many important biochemical pathways and these are mainly concerned with carbohydrate metabolism, both in photosynthesis and in the conversion of sugars to starch, protein metabolism, auxin metabolism, pollen formation, maintenance of integrity of biological membranes and resistance to infection by certain pathogens (Alloway, 2008).
Application of Zn fertilizers may be a viable option to fulfill the crop demand for Zn and also to increase its content in edible parts. One third of the world population is reported at the risk of malnutrition due to inadequate dietary intake of zinc (Cakmak, 2009). About 50 % of Indian soils are deficient in zinc causing low level of zinc and yield losses in fodder crops and affecting the health of the livestock (Singh, 2011).
Applying Zn to plants grown under potentially Zn-deficient soils is effective in reducing uptake and accumulation of P in plants. This agronomic side effect of Zn fertilization may result in better bio-availability of Zn in human and animal system.
You must be logged in to post a comment.