Corn
Sweet corn is a popular summer vegetable but requires a significant space investment to have a good yield. Sweet corn does not adapt well to small garden areas because closely spaced plants will produce only 1 to 2 ears. Sweet corn is also wind-pollinated, and different varieties can easily cross in small spaces and impact the quality of ears. Types of sweet corn are categorized based on their genetic types.
- Normal sugary (su types). This is the oldest, traditional type of sweet corn. It is tender and creamy but will quickly become starchy. These varieties must be isolated from sh2 and sy types.
- Sugary enhanced and Triplesweet (se types). These types have an increased sugar level and even more tender kernels. The sugar turns to starch more slowly than su types. These varieties must be isolated from sh2 types.
- Supersweet (sh2 types). Supersweet varieties have up to 50% more sugar than regular sugary types. They have a crisp, crunchy texture to the kernels and will keep their sweetness for a week in the refrigerator. The shriveled seeds do not germinate well in cold soil. This variety must be isolated from other sweet corn types.
- Synergistic (sy types). Synergistic types of sweet corn have a combination of the above genes. They have at least one se gene and may have a combination of sh2 or su or both. They combine the beneficial traits of all the other genes to have improved sweetness, texture, and storage life. Isolation requirements must be determined for each variety, or plan to isolate from all other types.
- Augmented supersweet (sh2 with some se characteristics). This type of corn is a supersweet that also has the se trait in the kernels, resulting in a corn with high sugar, tender texture, and good storage life.
Para información en español, visite este sitio web.