Question on Corn

[DeborahL]

OK, I can have the fun of trying anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained !
If I get even one small ear to cook and taste I'd freak out. By the way, am I the only one who likes to bite into a raw ear of corn once in awhile?
They're sweet and good !

[DoubleDogFarm]

I haven't grown sweet corn in a few years. Sugar Dots was / is one of the favorites in Washington gardens.

Eric

[jal_ut]

By the way, am I the only one who likes to bite into a raw ear of corn once in awhile?

No. I will often grab an ear, husk it, and eat it raw.

[DeborahL]

Good, isn't it?

[GardenRN]

I like the baby corn raw. When you can still eat the whole cob and all. But I can't stand it cooked for some reason.

[digitS']

The SE (sugary enhanced) have always done well for me, also. This year I had Sugar Buns, Kandy King, Bodacious, and Sugar Pearl. There were only a small number of plants for some of these and I've made the claim that they are all bi-colors because they get mixed up . . . That isn't completely true but it becomes fairly obvious that there's quite a bit of cross-pollination in my corn patches.

I believe that Peaches and Cream is also a sugary enhanced type but I haven't grown it.

I am very happy with Sugar Buns and it is quite a small plant but there has been one in my garden that I had for a number of years that was almost embarrassingly small: Fleet.

Jeff, it could be that some of these little guys would be most suitable for your approach to growing corn. Look at the catalog descriptions and one of those that says it is about 5 1/2 feet tall may be the one for you. I know that Fleet wasn't usually even that tall . I'm sure that some of the neighbors thought there was something wrong with it. But, it was very early and quite tasty.

Steve

[TheWaterbug]

N=2, but my first crop of Bi-Licious and Delectable was planted 12" in rows, and 36" between rows, and I averaged about 1.5 full ears per stalk.

My second crop of Bodacious was planted 12" x 24", and the yield was terrible. I got little runt ears with 3-4" of kernels on them, and the rest of the cob was just completely undeveloped. I doubt it was pollination, because the part that did develop was fully packed,

Granted, this location didn't get quite as much sun as the other, and the weather was a _lot_ less favorable, but they got plenty of water.

I'm going to guess the difference was nutrition. I didn't fertilize very much at all.

When I see commercially-farmed corn fields, they're _packed_ with plants. I'm usually driving by, so I can't measure, but to my eye (at 60 MPH) it looks like they're 6" in row, and about 24" apart. But they're probably pouring on fertilizer by the gallon.

Next year I'll plant as I did for the first, successful patch from this year.

[GardenRN]

Waterbug, half an ear being developed would exactly clue me into the pollination. But of course I am finding out every day that I don't know as much as I think I do.

It is my understanding that when the silk comes out of the ear, each "hair" leads to one individual kernel. And therefore for each kernel to develop, each hair would have to catch a piece of pollen. If pollenation is less than significant, you would end up with underdeveloped ears.

Did that make sense?

I think if the problem was fertilization, you would have ended up with short plants, less ears per plant, or ears that were completely unsatisfactory. The fact that half of the ear was very good definitely signals a pollination issue.

But I may be exactly wrong too.

[DoubleDogFarm]

But of course I am finding out every day that I don't know as much as I think I do.

Forget about it!

Jeff, I believe you are right on the pollination. Take a look.

Symptoms:

Cob tissue without kernels on the last one or more inches of the ear tip. Ovules not fertilized at ear tip.



Causes:

Poor fertilization of ear tip ovules at silking; poor pollination of ear due to asynchronous pollen shed and silking (poor “nickâ€

[TheWaterbug]

https://agcrops.osu.edu/specialists/corn/specialist-announcements/ear-abnormalities/troubleshooting-abnormal-corn-ears-and-related-disorders#PoorTipFillEric

Great link! Thanks!

Actually, looking at the photos, my ears looked much more like the "Blunt Ear Syndrome" near the top of the page.

How cold does the weather need to be to constitute a "cold shock?"

We seldom get below 50 degrees on summer nights.

[jal_ut]

When I see corn that was not pollinated well, the pattern of unfertilized kernels is scattered all over the cob.

I can't say for sure what happened here, but don't let this stop you from planting again. I have had many garden failures, but the success rate far out weighs the failures. Try some different things each year too. Find what works for you. Plant in faith and hope for a harvest.

[jal_ut]

DoubleDogFarm, that was a neat link you posted. Thanks. I have never seen most of the problems discussed there, thankfully.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Possible Causes of BES
Because ear development is arrested or stopped completely and suddenly (normal row numbers, then nothing), the cause of the problem would appear to be a single triggering event, not a lingering stress like nutrient deficiency or soil pH. One possible cause of BES could be the application of certain post-emergence herbicides (growth regulators or ALS-type) during the period of row number determination (V5 and V12). While possible, this cause can be ruled out because of the diversity of herbicide programs encountered in documented cases of BES.

Another possible cause of such a dramatic termination of ear development is chilling injury. Indeed, research reported from Belgium (Bechoux et al., 2000; Lejeune and Bernier, 1996; Lejeune et al., 1998) documented that chilling injury at the time of ear and tassel initiation (about V5) could prevent ear initiation altogether or reduce tassel branch and spikelet formation. Perhaps chilling injury to the developing ear at somewhat later leaf stages could similarly arrest further ear development?

The term “chilling injuryâ€

[TheWaterbug]

[quote="DoubleDogFarm"]The term “chilling injuryâ€

[Tilde]

subscrbing ....

[DoubleDogFarm]

subscribing ....

If you are looking for something informing regularly, I'm the wrong person.

Eric

[Tilde]

N o I just don't want to lose this thraed