Ten dent-corn cultivars were evaluated in two planting dates (May and June) at the Pariquera-Açu Experiment Station, State of São Paulo, Brazil, in order to identify the best materials for ear production at grain milk stage. The following characteristics were studied: final stand, number of total ears and commercial ears type, weight of ears with husk, ear index, average weight of commercial ears, plant cycle and plant reaction to natural infection of Helminthosporium turcicum. Among the cultivars tested, statistically significant differences were obtained for final stand, ear index, plant cycle, yield and plant resistance to H. turcicum. The corn cultivars Cargill 408 and Cargill 742 were the most productive, and as compared to Agroceres 162, they matured earlier, yielded higher, showed higher ear index and were less infected by H. turcicum. Despite the atypical and unfavorable local season conditions for the corn crop, the relatively low productivity was still considered profitable for ear production harvested at grain milk stage.
Green corn; cultivars; grain milk stage