Post-harvest characterization of sweet corn submitted to nitrogen fertigation

Abstract The aim of this research was evaluate the quality of sweet corn submitted to the nitrogen nutrient installment process applied by fertigation from the physical, chemical and sensory parameters. The cultivar of sweet corn used in the experiment was Doce Cristal (BR-402), submitted to the influence of fertigation in 4 treatments with different installments of ammonium nitrate: Treatment 1: 2 applications, Treatment 2: 4 applications, Treatment 3: 6 applications and Treatment 4: 8 applications. The corn cobs were evaluated for the physical parameters of length, diameter and mass; the physicochemical parameters of pH, soluble solids, moisture and ash; and a sensory analysis using the acceptance test as well as the instrumental texture analysis. For the physical parameters, the treatments only affected the diameter of the ears with (5.3 cm to 5.8 cm) and without (4.3 cm to 4.7 cm) the straw. In the physicochemical analysis only titratable acidity measured as malic acid did not differ between treatments, and the soluble solids showed the greatest difference between treatments with treatment 4 presenting 15 ºBrix and treatment 2 17 ºBrix. The treatments did not influence the sensory acceptance of the sweet corn cobs, which showed good acceptability for all attributes evaluated, with average hedonic scores greater than 7.3.