Effects of Different Hydrogel Doses under Different Irrigation Water Salinity on Sweet Corn (Zea mays) Yield

This study was carried out to determine the effects of the irrigation water salinity level and different hydrogel doses which controlled releasing fertilizer and soil conditioner on soil as pam hydrogel source on the merit f1 type sweet corn ((zea mays saccharata sturt.) yield at greenhouse condition. the research was conducted 4 different irrigation water salinity level (t_1; 0 ds/m , t_2; 1.5 ds/m, t_3; 3.0 ds/m t_4; 5.0 ds/m) and 4 different hydrogel doses (h_1;0 gr/pot, h_2;0.5 gr/pot, h_3;1.0 gr/pot, h_4;1.5 gr/pot). the experimental design was randomized factorial design with three replications. according to the results; significant and negative relationship was observed between the water salinity and dry and wet plant weight. the highest wet and dry weights was observed for irrigation water salinity and hydrogel doses at the t_1 as 170.94 gr/pot and 22.77 gr/pot and the h_2 as 179.75 gr/pot and 26.47 gr/pot respectively. hydrogel effect decreased when the salinity level increase. also plant lengths decreased while the salinity increasing. irrigation water use efficiency was obtained the highest value belong to t_1h_2 with the value of 0.26.