Influence of Sowing Date and Fertilisers on Productive Properties and Antioxidant Capacity of Sweet Corn

Sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. saccharata) is one of the popular varieties of corn in the human diet. Its quality is influenced by various properties such as grain moisture, colour, ear weight, ear length, texture, and sugar content, while its health benefits are attributed to its total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. The aim of this research is to determine the impact of N fertiliser application and sowing date on yield indicators, total phenol content and antioxidant capacity of sweet corn. The treatments of the experiment consisted of a combination of two factors, two different nitrogen regimes and two different sowing dates. The results show that the applied treatments significantly influenced the researched traits of sweet corn. Dehusked and husked ear mass, ear length, and yield were higher when sown earlier (385 g, 264 g, and 21 cm, respectively) than later sowing (364 g, 242 g, and 20 cm, respectively). Additionally, higher values of dehusked and husked ear mass, ear length, were recorded with a higher dose of fertiliser. Furthermore, total phenol contents ranged from 57.0 to 80 mg GAE 100 g-1 and depended on sowing date, fertilisation, and year of study.