Last year I planted just Sweet Corn. I planted them in blocks, but I also helped pollinate them myself to be sure.
This year I also wanted to try Silver Queen corn because many people say it is just as good as Sweet Corn.
So can I plant Sweet Corn next to Silver Queen and pollinate them with each other, or will that mess up the type of corn that grows?
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hendi_alex
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Cross pollinating corn is a little different than with most vegetables. With things like squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. the seeds just carry the genetic coding and don't have much if any impact of the fruit flavor of the current generation of fruit. Those traits won't show until the seed from the current fruit would be replanted.
With corn however, the seed is the 'fruit'. That means that when cross pollination takes place, the traits are instantly mixed and affect the corn quality. For example, each year I plant yellow sweet corn and also plant a block of silver queen. Some of the ears of corn from both patches end up being bi-color.
So the corn will cross pollinate but for us that is just fine, as the corn still tastes delicious. But if you want a pure strain where the corn is true to the seed name, then either plant a single strain, or space the plantings apart in both space and/or time. When the plants of different blocks drop pollen at different times, then very little cross pollination is likely to take place.
With corn however, the seed is the 'fruit'. That means that when cross pollination takes place, the traits are instantly mixed and affect the corn quality. For example, each year I plant yellow sweet corn and also plant a block of silver queen. Some of the ears of corn from both patches end up being bi-color.
So the corn will cross pollinate but for us that is just fine, as the corn still tastes delicious. But if you want a pure strain where the corn is true to the seed name, then either plant a single strain, or space the plantings apart in both space and/or time. When the plants of different blocks drop pollen at different times, then very little cross pollination is likely to take place.
I always learn so much on here!
I planted Martian jewel and sweet corn...one row apart! The plants are only a few inches tall, so good thing I read this before I ended up with Martian sweet corn!
If you were to cut an immature ear and use it to hand pollinate the remaining ears of that variety would that help to reduce the likelihood of cross pollination? There are tons of bees that frequent the garden, but I've never really seen them on the corn.
Any insights? Is this a pipe dream?
I planted Martian jewel and sweet corn...one row apart! The plants are only a few inches tall, so good thing I read this before I ended up with Martian sweet corn!
If you were to cut an immature ear and use it to hand pollinate the remaining ears of that variety would that help to reduce the likelihood of cross pollination? There are tons of bees that frequent the garden, but I've never really seen them on the corn.
Any insights? Is this a pipe dream?
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gixxerific
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jal_ut
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It is good to plant several rows or a block of corn so it gets pollinated well. Yes, bees do gather corn pollen, but are not needed for pollination. The wind does it.
As noted the type of pollen does affect the flavor of the corn. For this reason, it is not good to plant a super sweet next to a Se type, nor standard corn near other types.
If your super sweet gets pollinated with standard corn, it won't be super sweet.
However be aware that corn varieties have different maturation dates or can be planted a week or two apart so it doesn't drop pollen at the same time, then no problem.
As noted the type of pollen does affect the flavor of the corn. For this reason, it is not good to plant a super sweet next to a Se type, nor standard corn near other types.
If your super sweet gets pollinated with standard corn, it won't be super sweet.
However be aware that corn varieties have different maturation dates or can be planted a week or two apart so it doesn't drop pollen at the same time, then no problem.
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DoubleDogFarm
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Pollen comes from the top tassels not from the ears. You could collect pollen by shaking the tassels inside a paper bag. Then take it and sprinkle on the ear silks. You will still get cross pollination unless you bag the pollinated ears and or remove the tassels from the unwanted pollen provider.If you were to cut an immature ear and use it to hand pollinate the remaining ears of that variety would that help to reduce the likelihood of cross pollination? There are tons of bees that frequent the garden, but I've never really seen them on the corn.
Eric
The pollen parts are the tassels on top of your corn. The place to pollinate is the silks lower down.sepeters wrote:If you were to cut an immature ear and use it to hand pollinate the remaining ears of that variety would that help to reduce the likelihood of cross pollination? There are tons of bees that frequent the garden, but I've never really seen them on the corn.
Any insights? Is this a pipe dream?
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jal_ut
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Plant reproductive morphology gets quite involved since there are so many variations of flowers in the plant world. Some flowers have both male and female parts. The male parts provide the pollen, the female parts are the ovaries, which develop into seeds. Apple tree blossoms are an example.
On other plants there may be male only flowers and female only flowers on the same plant. Such is the case with corn. The male flower is the tassel and it produces the pollen. The female part is the ear and the silk is the part that collects the pollen. There will be one silk strand for each kernel of corn on the cob.
The only time I have seen corn not get pollinated well was one time I planted a single row. Plant two or more rows and you will do well. No hand pollination required.
Here is a good read.
On other plants there may be male only flowers and female only flowers on the same plant. Such is the case with corn. The male flower is the tassel and it produces the pollen. The female part is the ear and the silk is the part that collects the pollen. There will be one silk strand for each kernel of corn on the cob.
The only time I have seen corn not get pollinated well was one time I planted a single row. Plant two or more rows and you will do well. No hand pollination required.
Here is a good read.
Thanks for all the info guys! And thanks for the link Jal! All useful, interesting stuff.
Seems like I'm going to have some cross pollinated corn this year!
But, hey, maybe it'll be good! Neither is feed corn or anything, so, I don't see how it could be bad. Chock this one up to a learning experience! 
Sweet Martian Jewels anyone? 
Seems like I'm going to have some cross pollinated corn this year!
But, hey, maybe it'll be good! Neither is feed corn or anything, so, I don't see how it could be bad. Chock this one up to a learning experience! Sweet Martian Jewels anyone? -
Gary350
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There are several companies that specialize is cross pollenating corn. I use to work for Decald Corn 40 yrs ago. They would alternate 8 rows, 2 rows, 8 rows, 2 rows, over and over for the whole field.
Example. Suppost you want to cross white corn with yellow corn. Suppose the white corn has something special about it that you want the yellow corn to have. So you plant yellow corn in all the 8 rows and white corn in all the 2 rows. When corn gets tall enough to make tassels you pull all the tassels out of the yellow corn so it can not pollenate itself. The white corn will pollenate all the yellow corn.
It gets complicated after that. They plant second year and third year generation corn too, this produces specialty corn.
Silver Queen is the best. Sometimes I try new things but always return to silver queen its still the best.
Example. Suppost you want to cross white corn with yellow corn. Suppose the white corn has something special about it that you want the yellow corn to have. So you plant yellow corn in all the 8 rows and white corn in all the 2 rows. When corn gets tall enough to make tassels you pull all the tassels out of the yellow corn so it can not pollenate itself. The white corn will pollenate all the yellow corn.
It gets complicated after that. They plant second year and third year generation corn too, this produces specialty corn.
Silver Queen is the best. Sometimes I try new things but always return to silver queen its still the best.
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jal_ut
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You should read this article and also note the cautions about isolating different corns.
Hey, if you do let corn cross, you will still get corn and it will be good, however it may not be the same flavor and sweetness that you would have gotten if it hadn't crossed since the pollen does affect the flavor and sweetness.
Hey, if you do let corn cross, you will still get corn and it will be good, however it may not be the same flavor and sweetness that you would have gotten if it hadn't crossed since the pollen does affect the flavor and sweetness.
Next year I'll do things differently. 
Our hot season is long enough here that I can easily wait a month between planting different varieties.
So... I'm gathering if I did the same thing last year (oops!) the corn I ate was likely not representative of the true flavor of each variety. And the kernels I saved (not the seed I planted this year) are probably f1 hybrids? Guess I'll be chucking it! They both tasted ok, the sweet wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be, but I thought it was just because of the intense heat...which probably doesn't effect the flavor at all!
Obviously not a corn expert here, and last year was the first year I grew more than one kind. Hopefully next year will be the first year I successfully grow two distinctly different varieties.
Our hot season is long enough here that I can easily wait a month between planting different varieties. So... I'm gathering if I did the same thing last year (oops!) the corn I ate was likely not representative of the true flavor of each variety. And the kernels I saved (not the seed I planted this year) are probably f1 hybrids? Guess I'll be chucking it! They both tasted ok, the sweet wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be, but I thought it was just because of the intense heat...which probably doesn't effect the flavor at all!
Obviously not a corn expert here, and last year was the first year I grew more than one kind. Hopefully next year will be the first year I successfully grow two distinctly different varieties.
Two years ago I tried to segregate colors on an 'Indian' corn. I failed because of racoons, but the pollination was easy. I tied to swamped out natural cross pollination by adding so much of the pollen I wanted that I was sure to get mostly the results I wanted.
This method works for a small garden, one row etc: Cut a tassle off when it first starts to release pollen, and put it in a vase of water like the flower stalk that it is. (You can cut as many tassles off as you want, I hd to keep my tassles separate because of the colors).
Set that on a newspaper to catch the pollen.
Pollen will be released in the early part of the day. It only has a short life span so use it as soon as possible (within a day I think --I took it outside right away).
Starting about 10 AM shake the tassle over the paper. I regularly got a teaspoon of pollen per cycle. Repeat every two or three hours until it stops for the day. You can do this for about three days. I then used a paper plate folded in half to form a pouring spout and simply sprinkled pollen onto silks out in the garden. Start as soon as you see silks emerge from the ears and keep doing it until the ear is fully silked.
From what I read, fertilization is more successful better during the same time of day that the pollen is being released. Silks are sticky or something--I forget the detail. You can get a tablespoon of pollen in all from a single tassel, more than enough for a small plot of corn.
It would probably make a good science fair experiment for the kids -- Timing pollen release etc.
The down side is that all the action happens while you are at work. I don't know the efficiency if you pollenate the silks late in the day, but I don't see why it wouldn't work well enough.
This method works for a small garden, one row etc: Cut a tassle off when it first starts to release pollen, and put it in a vase of water like the flower stalk that it is. (You can cut as many tassles off as you want, I hd to keep my tassles separate because of the colors).
Set that on a newspaper to catch the pollen.
Pollen will be released in the early part of the day. It only has a short life span so use it as soon as possible (within a day I think --I took it outside right away).
Starting about 10 AM shake the tassle over the paper. I regularly got a teaspoon of pollen per cycle. Repeat every two or three hours until it stops for the day. You can do this for about three days. I then used a paper plate folded in half to form a pouring spout and simply sprinkled pollen onto silks out in the garden. Start as soon as you see silks emerge from the ears and keep doing it until the ear is fully silked.
From what I read, fertilization is more successful better during the same time of day that the pollen is being released. Silks are sticky or something--I forget the detail. You can get a tablespoon of pollen in all from a single tassel, more than enough for a small plot of corn.
It would probably make a good science fair experiment for the kids -- Timing pollen release etc.
The down side is that all the action happens while you are at work. I don't know the efficiency if you pollenate the silks late in the day, but I don't see why it wouldn't work well enough.
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hendi_alex
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Each year I buy new corn seed and just dump it in with last year's seeds. I don't really care what mixes, as the corn always tastes great. Some comes out true to name, like 'Silver Queen'. Some comes out bicolor, white and yellow. Other comes out relatively true to name as pure yellow. I do try to stagger my planting time for yellow corn and white corn, so the mix there is usually much less.
Definitely have to try this method of hand pollination! At first my concern was cross pollination. The more you guys post, the more concerned I am about getting pollination at all! 
I only have 8 corn plants total, in two "rows". From what everyone says corn does better planted en masse.
Thanks so much to all of the helpful gardeners!
The corn is thick and 2 feet tall, and I'm already chomping at the bit to get this done!
I only have 8 corn plants total, in two "rows". From what everyone says corn does better planted en masse. Thanks so much to all of the helpful gardeners!
The corn is thick and 2 feet tall, and I'm already chomping at the bit to get this done!