Something interesting in my corn

[Pulsegleaner]

Hi all,

Something interesting happened in last night. I was organizing my corn seed against future planting. In an effort to consolidate some things I finally got around to OPENING two packs of Volta White Maize I had got from Richter's seed zoo (https://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X9394). This is a fairly ordinary white maize (presumably heat tolerant as the Haute Volta is pretty tropical) Note the word "white".

Imagine my surpise when I looked over the seed in my hand from one of the packs and saw one kernel is very definitely PURPLE. Either the corn has gotten crossed (possible but since Richter's claims they don't regenerate their seed, I'm not sure where) or the corn is not as pure white as they claim. I ordered a few more packs to see if I can get a few more colored kernels (they'll be more interesting to grow than plain white corn).

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Ok. I came to see if it was children but dodged that bullet so imma gonna leave now. Question though, how many seeds get processed for planting? 10% of the entire crop?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I'm not 100% sure I understand the question.

If you mean what percentage of the corn I collect winds up getting planted, there's no set percentage. I go by kernel appearance, not percentage of crop. If a kernel looks like what I am looking for, it's in if not, it's out. Some ears get a bigger representation than others, but since, by definition it has to have more kernels that look the way I want to get that way, I feel this is fair.

There have been a FEW cases where I have saved all of the kernels of an ear for re-planting but that is rare and an ear has to be truly exceptional looking to qualify for that (it's happened maybe three or four times, not counting ears I've kept in one piece for reference.)

If you mean how much of the corn I actually GROW myself gets saved, I can't answer that. I haven't had a plant actually get to ear stage in so long I can barely remember. First the critters eat nearly all my seed out of the ground and then when the few left make it up, they come back and chew those down as well.

And the one year a few made it to adulthood, they were so bendy and knock kneed the wind actually broke them in half the first time it blew anything decent. But I keep trying.

The last time I actually got kernels back I initially saved all of them, since there were only a handful (I got two cobs both with terrible pollination). But as nothing looked all that good, I ended up tossing them and starting again.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

I know what you mean about bending. I tried Silver Queen one year but did not have enough for a stand in my garden area. I learned a lot though.

 

[ducks4you]

I have been getting a corn and soybean digest email newsletter, and one recent article said that only 95% of new corn seed germinates. I wonder if that just means field corn?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I was wandering around the web and I found this picture of a harvest of corn in Ghana

So it looks like there IS some purple in Ghanian Corn (a bit of yellow too)

 

[ducks4you]

Found this:

I came across a book at our local community college some 20 years ago, that traced the history of maize/corn. It began as a plant with few kernals and the locals developed and cross pollinated to produce larger ears and more fruit. Having experienced some early tries of corn and getting Smut, I wonder if it needs to grow where it's drier?

 

[seedcorn]

Smut is caused by a kernel or plant getting damaged allowing fungus inside-supposedly good fried.
New kernels allowed to dry should germinate very close to 100%. Most seed companies mark the germ % lower to cover losses by environment or planter error. IF corn germinated at 5%, the cost would be so high, no ne would buy it.

 

[seedcorn]

I know what you mean about bending. I tried Silver Queen one year but did not have enough for a stand in my garden area. I learned a lot though.

You got lucky as Silver Queen is field corn. Never understood planting field corn to eat as sweet corn.

 

[Zeedman]

You got lucky as Silver Queen is field corn. Never understood planting field corn to eat as sweet corn.

??? Are you perhaps thinking of a field corn with a similar name? Silver Queen has been widely sold for years as a sweet corn. I've grown it; it wasn't bad, but didn't impress me enough to grow it again.