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Post by spike on Sept 27, 2017 16:52:22 GMT -5
Okay so I heard that if you don't want corn to cross pollinate, you are to snap off the tassels. Does corn not need to pollinate? What happens if it does cross pollinate? What happens if it doesn't pollinate cause you snapped off the tassels?
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Post by september on Sept 27, 2017 22:11:07 GMT -5
Well, if you were growing only one variety of corn and snapped off the all the tassels before pollination, you wouldn't get any corn crop at all, because there would be no pollen to fertilize the silks.
I'm no expert, but it seems like the only reason to remove tassels would be if you DID want it to cross pollinate. Because then, assuming the two corn varieties had the same DTM and produced pollen at the same time, and were planted close enough together, the snapped off corn could only accept pollen from the neighboring corn, so you would be creating a hybrid.
Maybe others know more.
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Post by paquebot on Sept 27, 2017 23:38:17 GMT -5
That would apply if you were growing two types of sweet corn and one is an sh2. You would want to remove the tassels from the other type so that it would not pollinate the sh2. The sh2 variety would pollinate itself and the other.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by spike on Sept 28, 2017 9:07:14 GMT -5
paquebot , okay I give! What is "sh2"? My old uncles only allowed you to plant Silver Queen. I want to expand and maybe try a couple different types next year and am clueless. If corn does cross pollinate what happens? Does a pepper plant explode?
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 28, 2017 14:13:35 GMT -5
No peppers will explode, I promise! Generally, if you let the wrong combinations of hybrid sweet corns cross with each other, you can get corn with tough, starchy, inedible kernels. If you look in any garden seed catalog, you'll see that sweet corn is broken up into categories. If in doubt, the seed catalog will usually tell you what to isolate each corn from. Isolation rules:Su - Isolate from field corn, ornamental corn, popcorn, Sh2. Okay with Se. Se - Isolate from field corn, ornamental corn, popcorn, and Sh2. Okay with Su. Sh2 - Isolate from field corn, ornamental corn, popcorn, Su, and Se. Okay only with other Sh2.
Synergistic and Mirai - The isolation rules for these corns are like Su/Se. Isolate from field corn, ornamental corn, popcorn, and Sh2. Okay with Su and Se. EDIT: I have since read other sources that say Mirai must be isolated from Se and Su.Augmented Shrunken - The isolation rules for these corns are like Sh2. Isolate from field corn, ornamental corn, popcorn, Su, and Se. Okay with Sh2. Source: www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/factsheets/corngenotypes.html***The one thing I didn't see addressed in any of this is isolation rules for OP (open-pollinated) sweet corn. Obviously you couldn't save seeds from the OP sweet corn if it crossed with anything, unless you were deliberately trying for a cross. But what I don't know is whether the OP corn would be inedible, or would make any of the hybrid sweet corn inedible if they crossed. Does anyone here know the answer?
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 28, 2017 14:32:15 GMT -5
Oh, and here's what those categories mean:
OP: Open-pollinated, meaning non-hybrid corn. Old fashioned sweet corn, not as sweet as the hybrids, more of an "old fashioned corn" flavor. The downsides are that there is a short harvest window for use as sweet corn, and the sugars in the kernels convert to starches very rapidly after the corn is picked. Literally it loses flavor in hours, so pick it immediately before cooking.
Su: Sugary. The first hybrid sweet corns developed were this type. Good plant vigor and yields, sweeter and more tender than OP corn and holds flavor for longer, but still needs to be used within a few days. Silver Queen is Su.
Se: Sugar enhanced. Sweeter than Su corn, and very tender. Keeps longer and has a longer harvest window as well. Most corn at roadside stands is Se because of its sweetness, tenderness, and keeping qualities.
Sh2: Supersweets. The Sh stands for shrunken, since the dried kernels shrink a lot. These are very sweet, have a very long harvest window, and keep for a long time after picking. Great for shipping. The downsides are that they can have poor vigor in cool soil, may not be as tender as Se, and some complain that while they are very sweet, they don't have enough "corn" flavor.
Synergistic and Mirai: Newer sweet corn hybrids that were developed to try to obtain the best characteristics of each sweet corn type. Synergistic corns have some Se kernels and some Sh2 kernels. Common brands are Sweet Breeds and Triplesweet. Some synergistic corns also have Su genes. Mirai is different in that all of the kernels in Mirai contain all three genotypes. Synergistic corns are very sweet and tender, and some have more "corn" flavor than Sh2 varieties. Very long harvest window and good keeping qualities. Some (not all) have better plant vigor than Sh2. Because of the way their genes are combined, these "behave" like Su and Se corns in terms of isolation. EDIT: I have since read other sources that say Mirai must be isolated from Se and Su.
Augmented Shrunken: Another class of new sweet corn hybrids that have 100% Sh2 kernels with the Se trait in them. Common brands are Gourmet Sweet, Multisweet, and X-tra Tender. Also very sweet, tender, flavorful corns with a long harvest window and good keeping qualities. These corns have their genes combined in a different manner than the Synergistic corns, so they "behave" like Sh2s in terms of isolation.
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Post by spike on Sept 28, 2017 16:48:36 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, oh my goodness you are amazing!! I am really going to have to study up on all of that. Thank you so much for your time in helping me. I am beginning to see why my old uncles only allowed one type of corn lol
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Post by paquebot on Sept 28, 2017 20:43:00 GMT -5
Thanks, Laura, I probably would not have gone beyond the "s" designations. A few seed catalogs cover the differences but few gardeners bother to read it. I was given 4 large trial packets from Jung's this spring. I already had 3 compatible varieties for my garden. My main garden is on a pumpkin farm which used to also sell sweet corn. Owner also had some leftovers from several previous years so we decided to plant everything. There was roughly a quarter-acre. All was to be given away and we did it. No complaints after a lot of butter and salt!
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 30, 2017 12:25:53 GMT -5
Glad your "leftover" sweet corn all turned out okay. So you planted different "S" groups and they turned out all right? Or do you know whether your mixed planting contained different "S" groups? I don't grow sweet corn in most years (space issues, alas), but when I do grow corn, it's all one kind. So this is all pretty academic to me. But I like academic stuff.
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Post by paquebot on Sept 30, 2017 19:57:54 GMT -5
Yes, we knew what we were planting. All of mine were se but owner had an sh2 in his lot. Since all of it was given away or for our own use, no room for many complaints. Only complaint we had was that one of the older packets was white and it was the sweetest of them all. Our complaint is that we didn't keep a record of the variety name!
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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