Planting Sweet corn help!!

[BigMatt]

No need to worry about the pollination issue. Pollinations is the mixing of genes for pro-creation of the NEXT generation. It doesn't effect the characteristics of the current generation.

IE, if you aren't keeping your seeds for next year then you have NOTHING to worry about.

This is bad information. Cross-pollination will affect the corn you are trying to grow. While you are correct that the current generation of plants you are trying to grow won't be affected, the fruit you are after is the next generation. You are eating the offspring.

I am growing 2 acres this year and I sell at the Henry County Farmers Market. I also sell bulk to local clubs for fund-raisers.

I had no problem with cross-pollination on my first planting last year, but my second planting was starchy due to the field corn in the next field. Both plantings were the same variety with the same fertilizer schedule and the same herbicide, they were just planted at different times.

The second planting was edible, it was just a little starchier and tougher than the first planting.

 

[wagyu52]

If you cross-pollinated sweet corn with field corn pollen you should have bought a power ball ticket that day. Sweet corn pollen is dominate over field corn pollen, that's why seed corn grows panic when they even think sweet corn is near their fields. Can it happen yes, is it worth the precaution of a hundreds feet or so of isolation (which is what it would take) no.

 

[Woobie]

This is bad information. Cross-pollination will affect the corn you are trying to grow. While you are correct that the current generation of plants you are trying to grow won't be affected, the fruit you are after is the next generation. You are eating the offspring.

I am growing 2 acres this year and I sell at the Henry County Farmers Market. I also sell bulk to local clubs for fund-raisers.

I had no problem with cross-pollination on my first planting last year, but my second planting was starchy due to the field corn in the next field. Both plantings were the same variety with the same fertilizer schedule and the same herbicide, they were just planted at different times.

The second planting was edible, it was just a little starchier and tougher than the first planting.

That seed is still the first generation. It was going to be produced, no matter what. It is coded differently because of the way it is pollinated though. Most likely your corn got starchy in the hotter summer. My later harvest did last year as well.

 

[OMG-ZOMBIES]

I will have to side with BigMatt here! Field corn can and will cross pollinate with sweet corn and result in starchy tough kernels. It is usually not a problem because sweet corn will pollinate early, but if you have multiple plantings you will have issues.

 

[wagyu52]

Key words are can and will pollinate, it is highly unlikely for corn that is silking and shedding pollen will cross pollinate with another plant. It can happen under certain environmental conditions, like heat stress but you would also notice an inconsistent kernal set.
It is way more likely that late season corn will not have the sugar content of earlier corn.

 

[6mm Shoot]

We lost our corn this year to being topped by deer. We had kept Cayenne Pepper on it till the rain took it all off and I didn't get it back on in time. We have had a lot of rain. They topped it all. They also got the tomatoes. I still have hopes for tomatoes. The wife wants me to stake one of the dogs out by the garden to keep the deer away. Next year I will put up the electric fence to keep them out. So we will be buying corn to put up.

 

[CountryBoy19]

This is bad information. Cross-pollination will affect the corn you are trying to grow. While you are correct that the current generation of plants you are trying to grow won't be affected, the fruit you are after is the next generation. You are eating the offspring.

I am growing 2 acres this year and I sell at the Henry County Farmers Market. I also sell bulk to local clubs for fund-raisers.

I had no problem with cross-pollination on my first planting last year, but my second planting was starchy due to the field corn in the next field. Both plantings were the same variety with the same fertilizer schedule and the same herbicide, they were just planted at different times.

The second planting was edible, it was just a little starchier and tougher than the first planting.

I just saw this... stop spreading misinformation based upon your opinion of what happened to your corn and do a little reading on plant genetics. You will be much further ahead. This is elementary genetics stuff, not rocket science.

re: your comment on the fruit, the fruit is the current generation, the only thing it has to do with the next gen is that it contains the genetic material that determines the next generation.

My family has been growing and selling sweet corn for 3 decades now; people travel up to an hour to buy our corn because they've heard how good it was. There is a LOT that determines how good corn is, being planted next to field-corn is NOT one of them...

 

[bdybdall]

Last year I tried raising chickens for the first time, but it was a massive failure. Apparently I was either planting them too deep or too close together.

Probably cross pollinated with the turkeys. Were they too starchy?

 

[bdybdall]

Sweet corn loves nitrogen. 30" row spacing is good. I plant mine with a 6 row John Deere planter. I raise and sell about 5 acres. The pollination won't matter with the field corn. It's maturity is later by at least 30 days vs the ambrosia. I raise ambrosia. I have a recipe for keeping the coons out. Works like a charm. Ambrosia is a I believe a 77 day maturity and generally field corn is a 104-115 day corn. Plant the corn about 1.5-2" deep and make sure it is a nice mellow seed bed. No big chunks. Corn doesn't like to grow in chunky dirt.

OK, what's your recipe?

 

[BigMatt]

I just saw this... stop spreading misinformation based upon your opinion of what happened to your corn and do a little reading on plant genetics. You will be much further ahead. This is elementary genetics stuff, not rocket science.

re: your comment on the fruit, the fruit is the current generation, the only thing it has to do with the next gen is that it contains the genetic material that determines the next generation.

My family has been growing and selling sweet corn for 3 decades now; people travel up to an hour to buy our corn because they've heard how good it was. There is a LOT that determines how good corn is, being planted next to field-corn is NOT one of them...

Here is an excerpt from a paper from the Purdue Extension Service:

"Corn pollen is carried by the wind from the tassels to the silks. Different types of corn can cross-pollinate and contaminate one another. All sweet corn types must be isolated from other types of corn including field corn, popcorn, and ornamental corn because their pollen will turn sweet corn starchy..."

The paper goes on to say that you are probably ok with planting them apart.

I don't want to get into a pissing contest, but the facts are the facts.

 

[bwframe]

I just saw this... stop spreading misinformation based upon your opinion of what happened to your corn and do a little reading on plant genetics. You will be much further ahead. This is elementary genetics stuff, not rocket science.

re: your comment on the fruit, the fruit is the current generation, the only thing it has to do with the next gen is that it contains the genetic material that determines the next generation.

My family has been growing and selling sweet corn for 3 decades now; people travel up to an hour to buy our corn because they've heard how good it was. There is a LOT that determines how good corn is, being planted next to field-corn is NOT one of them...

Here is an excerpt from a paper from the Purdue Extension Service:

"Corn pollen is carried by the wind from the tassels to the silks. Different types of corn can cross-pollinate and contaminate one another. All sweet corn types must be isolated from other types of corn including field corn, popcorn, and ornamental corn because their pollen will turn sweet corn starchy..."

The paper goes on to say that you are probably ok with planting them apart.

I don't want to get into a pissing contest, but the facts are the facts.

Interesting conversation.

-----------------------------------

Where does your family sell their sweet corn Countryboy19? I think I'm within an hour?

 

[CountryBoy19]

Here is an excerpt from a paper from the Purdue Extension Service:

"Corn pollen is carried by the wind from the tassels to the silks. Different types of corn can cross-pollinate and contaminate one another. All sweet corn types must be isolated from other types of corn including field corn, popcorn, and ornamental corn because their pollen will turn sweet corn starchy..."

The paper goes on to say that you are probably ok with planting them apart.

I don't want to get into a pissing contest, but the facts are the facts.

Guess I owe you an apology. That goes contrary to my understanding of plant genetics, but I trust what Purdue has to say.

That being said, in 30+ years of growing sweet corn right next to field corn, we've NEVER experienced this. That article even says that planting different TYPES of sweet corn next to one another can cause the same problems and with all the types we've planted over the years I'm certain if it was a realistic issue we would have seen it.

I will say that we have experienced tougher/starchy corn but every time we've had it happen it was due to poor harvest timing (IMHO the #1 factor in sweet corn quality).

 

[BigMatt]

Guess I owe you an apology. That goes contrary to my understanding of plant genetics, but I trust what Purdue has to say.

That being said, in 30+ years of growing sweet corn right next to field corn, we've NEVER experienced this. That article even says that planting different TYPES of sweet corn next to one another can cause the same problems and with all the types we've planted over the years I'm certain if it was a realistic issue we would have seen it.

I will say that we have experienced tougher/starchy corn but every time we've had it happen it was due to poor harvest timing (IMHO the #1 factor in sweet corn quality).

No problem.

I agree that harvest timing is the biggest factor in sweet corn quality. That being said, the main reason (besides the flavor and texture) that I can almost surely say my corn was cross-pollinated is that the corn was supposed to be bi-color, but it turned out almost all yellow.

I agree that it is a freak occurrence, but I am almost positive it happened.

 

[nj4020]

Hey CB19,

I've put off posting because you seemed set in your opinions, but now I have something for you. Next year plant a couple rows of "Incredible" beside a couple rows of "Silver Queen". You'll see the result and you'll have some of the best bi-color corn you've ever tasted. Cross pollination with field corn is all about the timing.

 

[CountryBoy19]

That being said, the main reason (besides the flavor and texture) that I can almost surely say my corn was cross-pollinated is that the corn was supposed to be bi-color, but it turned out almost all yellow.

I agree that it is a freak occurrence, but I am almost positive it happened.

That would certainly agree with the rest of that paper from Purdue. It said the yellow gene is dominant and if cross-pollination happened between white & yellow the yellow would prevail...

I've put off posting because you seemed set in your opinions, but now I have something for you. Next year plant a couple rows of "Incredible" beside a couple rows of "Silver Queen". You'll see the result and you'll have some of the best bi-color corn you've ever tasted. Cross pollination with field corn is all about the timing.

That would also agree with the paper BigMatt referenced... you can end up with a "mix" depending on which pollen granule lands where. Silver queen pollen won't influence the color of the Incredible corn but the Incredible pollen will influence the color of the silver-queen. That being said, according to the paper there is a lot more at stake than just color as sugar, texture, toughness can also be detrimentally influenced even by crossing 2 types of sweet corn (it doesn't necessarily have to be field-corn).

Learn something new everyday...

 

[bwframe]

I just wolfed down 4 ears for lunch.
Picked up 3 dozen ears from the fresh produce operation south of Bargersville. Yesterdays pick brought in from Brownstown. It was good but, coming farther south, I should have gambled on the "Daisy Duke" roadside corn wagon sales outside of Trafalgar. They were out also, Theirs might have been fresher and their own crop?

 

[bwframe]

Thought I'd revisit this to see if anyone is still seeing fresh sweet corn at the roadside stands?
I'd like to put some more up and also can my annual supply of corn relish.