sweet corn

[Itoero]

I have one double row of sweet corn in the garden.
In the last week, every corn made 4 female flowers.
The plants dried out completely.
The leaves hang down and the male flowers are not well developed.
Can these plants still produce corn if I water them every day?
It's hot and sunny for at least 10 more days. (I live in Belgium)
Becaus the roots of corn go pretty deep, I didn't think they need extra watering.

[Redbaron]

You may have to help it by collecting pollen from the tassels and shaking it on the silks (because you don't have enough plants). But the corn in the pics looks ok to me.

[TomNJ]

I've always thought of corn as being shallow rooted. If you have not have adequate rain and they are not mulched, I would definitely give them a good drink and see if it perks them up.

TomNJ/VA

[ChrisK]

The silks should stay receptive for quite a while. You can collect pollen in a paper bag if you want and then sprinkle on the silks but it's not usually necessary if you have them planted densely enough, and those tassels are pretty robust looking. Corn is a tough plant, you shouldn't need to water them daily. From what I can see they look ok to me.

[Itoero]

Ok, I'll definitely try to collect some pollen.
I found a video about it.
So I hang a paper bag overr the tassel, from 8 am untill 12 am?

Didn't know that was possible.

edit I have 4 or 5 female flowers on each plant....can one plant make so many corns?

[ChrisK]

Sweet corn will often produce more than one ear (the trait is called prolificacy). You are unlikely to get development of more than two ears and some will be lower quality than the primary ear.

Originally Posted by Itoero

Ok, I'll definitely try to collect some pollen.
I found a video about it.
So I hang a paper bag overr the tassel, from 8 am untill 12 am?

Didn't know that was possible.

edit I have 4 or 5 female flowers on each plant....can one plant make so many corns?

[Doug9345]

Normally a stalk of corn has one ear on it. That's all I'm seeing in the photo you posted. If what I see in the photo is all your corn you didn't plant ver much and it is spread out way to much.

[joseph]

To collect corn pollen I take a plastic tub to the garden with me, bend the tassel over the tub and give it a shake. Pollen floats down into the pan, then I rub my fingers in the collected pollen and rub it on the silks.

[Itoero]

ok, I'll try it out.

[Durgan]

Small patches of corn should be compact to assure natural pollination. This patch is about 8 feet by 10 feet.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?OJLWH 18 July 2013 Corn Patch Thriving.The corn is now thriving, in tassle, and appears to be in excellent condition. It has been very hot the last three days with rain prior to the heat,and growth has been spectacular

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by Durgan

Small patches of corn should be compact to assure natural pollination.

That is correct Durgan. His is only a double row, which is why I suggested hand pollination. Your patch is the proper way to grow it for home use. In blocks.

[Itoero]

I just collected pollen in a black plastic tub and pollinated the silks.

There are only 15 corns, so I can do it every day 2 times to ensure I'll get corn.
I pollinate the 2 females closest to the top.
Next year I'll get more corn, in group, not in a double row.

[Itoero]

And did you get corn?

The corn is definitely growing.
There are 5 ears on each plant, but I pollinated only the 3 highest.
Should I remove the lowest, unpollinated ears or not?
It's maybe better not to damage the plant.

[ChrisK]

Just leave them be!

Originally Posted by Itoero

And did you get corn?


Should I remove the lowest, unpollinated ears or not?
It's maybe better not to damage the plant.

[Tormato]

Originally Posted by Itoero

And did you get corn?

The corn is definitely growing.
There are 5 ears on each plant, but I pollinated only the 3 highest.
Should I remove the lowest, unpollinated ears or not?
It's maybe better not to damage the plant.

Yes, I got corn. I was lucky that it was a long hot summer. What is usually a 90-100 DTM corn, for me, took 120-130 days.

The pollen was a bit clumpy after being frozen, so it took a little exta effort to spread it on the silks. It was also the first year I used the block planting method. Since I now always gather pollen to assist nature, I like to plant corn in single or double rows so that I have easy access to the plants from either side. Clumpy pollen is a bit difficult to spread when leaning and reaching in three or four dense rows.

Gary