Kocaeli municipality trials new high‑yield corn variety

The Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality’s Agricultural Services department has planted a new early‑maturing, high‑yield, disease‑resistant corn variety on 50 decares across six neighbourhoods – Kaymaz, Bayraktar, Kulmahmut, İshakçılar, Sevindikli and Kırkarmut. Soil analyses and field tests are being used to assess the variety’s adaptation to local climate and soil conditions, its growth rate, resistance to root‑and‑leaf diseases, and overall yield potential.

Field observations show the plants growing faster than conventional varieties, with some specimens reaching heights above a human and reaching the six‑to‑eight‑leaf stage or even the tasselling stage earlier. A few plots displayed double‑ear formation. The municipality plans to evaluate harvest results and, if successful, expand the variety throughout Kocaeli to give farmers higher‑quality, higher‑yield crops, increase agricultural income and promote sustainable farming practices supported by municipal subsidies and modern techniques.