Hungarian sweet maize is in demand worldwide as a valuable food. Hungary is the largest producer in Europe and the second largest exporter in the world. Annual production averages 500,000 tonnes over several years, 95% of which is exported. The importance of sweet maize is growing year by year. Farms are implementing excellent production techniques, irrigating almost 70% of the area. It is very important to select and cultivate sweet maize hybrids that are best suited to the intended use, and it is therefore important to research, analyse and evaluate the comparative potential of hybrids of normal sweet and super sweet maize.

In an experiment set up on the campus of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management of the University of Debrecen, we investigated the agronomic parameters, yield and essential nutrient content of normal sweet (PR) and super sweet (KU) sweet maize hybrids used in public cultivation. Quality parameters were determined under laboratory conditions from grain samples taken at harvest at the Centre of Agricultural Instruments.

The standard sweet maize hybrid (PR) is suitable for fresh consumption. It has an excellent flavour. The wet yield (ears+husks) harvested in the field experiment is medium, 14.118 (±0.12) tonnes per hectare, wet ear weight 12 (±0.10) tonnes and wet grain weight 5.7 (±0.08) tonnes.

The super sweet maize hybrid (KU) has early maturity. It has excellent adaptability, good yield potential and is suitable for canning. In our field trials, the harvested raw yield (ears+ husks) is 20.058 t ha-1. Raw ear yield is 17.040 (±0,16) t ha-1. Wet grain weight showed good results for industrial processing (10.17 t ha-1). The specific macro-nutrient content of super sweet maize is significantly higher than that of normal sweet maize, by 1139 mg phosphorus and 3412 mg potassium per kg. The magnesium surplus is also significant, 328 mg kg-1. The smallest difference is in the calcium content, 53 mg kg-1.

Keywords: sweet maize, normal sweet, super sweet, minerals, lutein, zeaxanthin