Re: Can you pollinate different types of corn with each othe
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:21 am
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.
I only have 8 corn plants total, in two "rows". From what everyone says corn does better planted en masse.