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Abstract:
This study was conducted at the MinSCAT Main Campus Horticulture Production Area, Alcate, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines from July to September, 2016 to determine the efficacy of varying dilution of vermitea such as: 1% (1L vermitea:100L water); 0.5% dilution (1L vermitea:200L water); and, 0.33% dilution (1L vermitea:300L water) on the production of sweet corn. Results of the study revealed that 1% dilution of vermitea could be an alternative vegetative growth enhancers for corn considering that it produces significantly the tallest plants from the very beginning until the last measurement with 37.82cm and 198.77cm, compared to the untreated plants with a variations in height of 4cm and 51.88cm, respectively. It could also influence the growth of other vegetative parts such as number of leaves and diameter of stalk because plants supplied with 1% dilution produced 10.5 leaves compared to only 9.2 of the control. The stalk diameter of plants supplied with 1% vermitea was significantly bigger than that of the untreated plants having 10.47mm compared to only 7.17mm with a difference of 3.3mm. Relative to the diameter of dehusked corn ears, plants supplied with 1% dilution exhibited the biggest and longest ears with 6.6cm and 13.03cm, respectively with mean differences of 1.92mm and 2.11cm against the untreated plants. As regards to the yield per plot and per hectare, the same trend were noted with plants with the highest level of dilution garnered the heaviest yield with 5.022kg and 3348kg followed by the other treatments in descending orders with the control plants with the lightest having only 2.655kg and 1770kg per plot and per hectares, respectively. As to the net income and return on investment, considering that these are directly correlated to the yield, it is therefore imperative that plants with the heaviest yield per plot and per hectare (1% vermitea dilution) have the highest net income of PhP152,530.00 and ROI of 315.47% compared to PhP61,950.00 and 140% for the control plants. In the pest and diseases occurrence, dilutions of vermitea of varying levels could be an effective pesticides considering that all plants grows vigorously from its emergence until harvesting as no disease was noticed and few cutworms was only observed during the plants early vegetative growth but disappeared after several applications of vermitea.
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