PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Corn (Zea mays) world's most productive crop, serving multiple uses in livestock feed, biofuel, and ethanol production industries. The study aimed to evaluate the performance of hybrid corn varieties applied with Gibberellic Acid 3 (GA 3). It was employed in Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement at eight treatment combinations. Factor A consisted of four different GA3 concentrations: Without GA 3 (WOG), 175 ml of GA 3 per hectare (175GA3), 200 ml of GA 3 per hectare (200GA3), and 225 ml of GA3 per hectare (225GA3). Factor B included two corn varieties: NK8840 (NK8) and NK6410 (NK6). Data collection focused on growth and yield parameters for each treatment combination, analysed using two-way ANOVA to assess the interaction of GA3 concentration and corn variety. Treatment differences were determined by Tukey's HSD test, with P-values (P < 0.05) obtained for plant height (PH), leaf count (LC), ear length (LE), ear diameter (ED), biomass yield (BY), weight of kernels (WK), and computed yield (CY). Results indicated that GA3 significantly affected BY and CY, with the 200 ml GA3 treatment yielding better results than other concentrations. While specific parameters did not show statistical significance, NK6 outperformed NK8 in terms of BY and CY. The application of 200 ml GA3 resulted in the highest recorded yield and enhanced crop performance, suggesting it as a viable strategy for optimising corn production and improving farmers’ economic returns.