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Growing Multiple Sweetcorn Varieties
Stuart R
Posts: 42
in Fruit & veg
Hi all,
I'm looking for an explanation as to why most sweetcorn packets suggest not to grow multiple varieties of sweetcorn together. If more than one variety are grown together of course they will cross pollinate, however if we have no intention of saving seed (which is pointless when growing super sweet hybrids anyway), what is the reason?
Does pollination itself affect the character of the fruits?? This isn't true for any other fruit I can think of; cross pollinating a cherry tomato with a beefsteak doesn't result in cherries growing on the beefsteak plant for example.
Any answer or thoughts would be much appreciated!
Regards,
Stuart
0
Posts
some varieties aren't good cross pollinators, in the same way as you have different types of apple in separate flowering season.
But if there are sufficient numbers of each variety for pollination, there's no effect on the fruits through growing blocks of multiple varieties side by side is there?
Pollination by other groups (standard or supersweet) will make tendersweet more tough and starchy. Why I do not know, but it is recommended that the three main groups, tendersweet, supersweet and standard are all grown separately to stop cross pollination, because of this deterioration in quality.
I only grow Swift F1which is a tendersweet. You do not get the tendersweet types in shops because they do not transport as well, too tender. the ones you buy in shops are usually supersweet.
They are wind pollinated, and it is recommended that varieties are at least 75m apart to stop cross pollination. If you are growing on an allotment, then get together with the others to find out what they are growing, otherwise you will all have tough kernels.