Where does corn grow and what does it look like? Corn: characteristics, types, description, biological features Corn-shaped flower
Corn is of great economic importance as a feed, food and industrial crop. It is grown primarily to produce grain, which is rich in carbohydrates, fats, and also to produce silage.
Corn grain contains up to 70% carbohydrates, 6% oil, 13% proteins, as well as vitamins. In terms of nutritional value, 1 kg of grain is equal to 1.34 feed units, while 1 kg of oats is equal to 1 feed unit, rye - 1.18, barley - 1.27.
Due to its high nutrient content, it is considered one of the best types of concentrated feed for livestock, especially for fattening pigs and poultry. Leaves, stems and cobs are considered good food, especially in the milky-waxy ripeness of the grain. Silage made from the vegetative mass of corn is characterized by high quality and nutritional value, and is an excellent succulent feed for feeding all farm animals. 100 kg of corn silage contains 22.5 feed units. Straw can be fed to livestock, as well as ground rods, which are pre-enriched with urea.
Corn is of great importance as a food crop. Its grain is used to produce flour, cereals, popcorn, confectionery and other products.
Corn grain is widely used in various industries. Starch, molasses, glucose, oil and other technical and food products are produced from it. The stems are used to produce cellulose, insulating materials, paper, and the rods are used to make linoleum. The total number of products and products made from corn exceeds 200 items.
It has few pests in common with other crops, so it is a good predecessor for other crops.
Corn comes from America, but its botanical origin has not been precisely established. There are no wild ancestors in nature. It is grown in most countries of the world. The largest sown areas are concentrated in the USA (more than 25 million hectares), Brazil (12 million hectares), India, Argentina, Romania (from 3 to 6 million hectares).
Corn is a high-yielding crop. On average, the country receives 32-37 centners of grain from each hectare. Under conditions of artificial irrigation, the yield is 100 c/ha and even more.
According to morphological characteristics, it differs significantly from other cereal plants. It has a more powerful development of the root system, stems, leaves, inflorescences and grains. The root system, like that of other cereal crops, is fibrous, but has a powerful development, evenly spreads to the sides, and reaches a depth of 2 m or more. In corn, so-called aerial above-ground roots also uniformly develop, which carry mainly a mechanical load, adding greater resistance to lodging.
The stem reaches a height of 5 m; in production conditions, the height of the stems of varieties and hybrids ranges from 1.5-2 m. The number of internodes on the stem depends on the varietal characteristics. Early ripening varieties have 8-10, while late ripening varieties have up to 20. The stem inside is filled with a spongy mass; in young plants it is very juicy and contains up to 5% sugar.
The leaves are long, wide, with wavy edges. Each plant has two inflorescences: the male - panicle and the female - spadix, which develops in the axil of the leaf. The head of cabbage is a rod along which the spikelets are placed in pairs in regular rows. Each female spikelet contains two flowers, but only the top one is fertile.
The culture is a wind-pollinated crop. During flowering, the columns of pistils emerge from the wrappers outward in the form of a bunch.
Corn grain differs from grain of other cereal plants in more diverse shape, size and color. The endosperm may be glassy, mealy or somewhere in between.
Types of corn
According to modern classification, corn is divided into 8 types or groups. Five of them are of industrial importance: tooth-like, siliceous, starchy, popping and sugar.
Tooth-like corn is characterized by having a wedge-shaped, elongated kernel with a characteristic hollow at the top, which gives it the appearance of a horse's tooth. The horn-like layer is located only on the sides of the caryopsis. It differs from other subspecies in its more powerful stem development, well-developed aerial roots, large forks and high yield.
Flint corn has a laterally compressed grain with a round, shiny top. The horn-like layer is located closer to the surface of the grain; inside the grain there is a mealy endosperm. This species has a significant number of varieties and hybrids, characterized by diversity and early ripening.
Starchy corn is characterized by a soft kernel with a dull, rounded surface. The endosperm is mealy. Due to its high starch and oil content, it is of great importance for the starch, syrup and fat-and-oil industries.
Popping corn differs from other subspecies in its relatively small grain, which is completely filled with a horn-like mass. The upper part of the grain is slightly pointed. When heat treated, the grain bursts, which gives this group its name.
Sweet corn has a wrinkled, translucent grain that is filled with horn-like endosperm. During the period of milky and early waxy ripeness, up to 15-16% sugar accumulates in the grain of this subspecies. Sweet corn is grown for canning, and forks are also consumed boiled.
Hybrid corn typically produces higher-yielding offspring that outperform non-hybrid varieties in terms of yield and quality. This occurs due to heterosis.
Biological features of corn
Corn is a heat-loving plant, but at the same time cold-resistant. Seeds begin to germinate at temperatures of +8 ... +10 ° C, and seedlings can withstand short-term frosts down to -3.5 ° C. At the end of the growing season, it is very sensitive to sub-zero temperatures, and small frosts damage the vegetative mass of plants.
This is a short day plant. It grows and develops well in intense light, especially in the first half of the growing season. In low light conditions, it consumes less mineral nutrients.
Corn is especially sensitive to heat during the period from sowing to tasseling. Too high a temperature, especially during flowering (above +35 ° C), negatively affects the pollination process. At high temperatures, the columns of female inflorescences dry out. Compared to cereal crops, it is less demanding of moisture. It consumes the greatest amount of moisture during the period of panicle formation - the beginning of grain filling. In the first half of summer, corn is drought-resistant; it spends moisture per unit of planting area sparingly, but in the second half of summer, moisture consumption increases significantly. The growing season ranges from 80 to 150 days.
Corn is very demanding on soil fertility. It grows well in loose soils. The best for it are considered to be chernozems, light sandy loam and loamy soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction of the soil solution.
When applying large quantities of fertilizers, it ensures high yields on sod-podzolic soils. It also grows well on drained and cultivated peat soils. Compacted, saline or acidic soils are unsuitable for it.
Some people still argue about what type of plant corn is, despite the fact that botanists have now been able to characterize it quite accurately. What this plant is: corn, also known as maize, is a cereal, vegetable, bean or fruit, and where the debate about its classification came from will be discussed in this article.
Description
According to its characteristics, corn is largely a cereal crop. The flowering process, leaf structure, fruit ripening and appearance indicate a similar affiliation. However, unlike a typical cereal, the interior of the corn stalk does not consist of voids, but of a loose substance called parenchyma. This is understandable; reaching two or more meters in height with a hollow stem would be impossible.
With the root system, everything is also ambiguous, because it is more like the roots of a banana bush. And such a similarity is not surprising, since corn, like a banana, has to withstand the weight of difficult fruits. Therefore, again, the external characteristics of both the plant itself and its fruits take the yellow cob further away from the cereal family.
In any case, despite the difference in size and type of root systems, the stalk and leaves of corn are excellent as livestock feed, just like other grain crops.
Next, let's look at what the attempts to classify corn as vegetables, fruits or beans are based on. In fact, if we discard the botanical characteristics, then only a conditionally yellow cob can be attributed to one of the crops. This is explained by the fact that in the botanical definition there is no such thing as “fruit”. From Latin fructus is translated as “fruit”. And botanists gave this word a precise definition, but if we generalize, it turns out that a fruit is a product obtained as a result of the ovary of a flower with its subsequent fertilization. That is, based on what is written, corn is on the same side as banana, tomato and beans.
And even the cereals themselves, albeit remotely, can be classified as fruits.
Origin of culture
If everything has become clear with this issue, then we can talk in more detail about the corn itself, because it is a rather controversial and interesting fruit, not only from the botanical definition.
For the first time, a plant with a yellow cob began to be developed by people around 9 thousand years BC. e. It is assumed that the homeland of maize is located in the area of modern Mexico. And if where corn originated is more or less clear, the question of its origin can still be a controversial topic in certain circles.
There are a number of supporters of the extraterrestrial or divine origin of maize. The essence of both sides is approximately the same: aliens from outer space (gods) landed on earth and gave people such a valuable fruit.
The impetus for the development of these theories was the following circumstance: corn, as everyone knows it today, is unable to grow without human help. If you do not harvest the crop on time, then the fallen cob will most likely simply rot, and with a lesser probability, the seeds will still germinate, but will not be able to survive due to high competition among themselves for nutrients.
A skeptic would then assume that there must have been wild ancestors, from which they were able to obtain modern maize through repeated crossings. But even today, indeed, no culture has been found that would definitely be a direct ancestor. From this follow several hypotheses of a more mundane kind. If we bring them all to a common denominator, we get the following: despite the fact that wild corn still exists in nature, it is apparently not the true ancestor of modern corn. If kinship is possible, it is only on the condition that the wild culture served as only one of the parents. The familiar yellow cob most likely came from interaction with teosinte.
Teosinte is a cereal plant similar to corn, but no longer externally, but internally. Genetically, they are the same species, and possible combinations of their properties could have contributed to the development of modern corn.
Moreover, adding to this theory the selective influence of man and the effect of positive mutations on maize, there is no doubt about the viability of such an opinion.
Kinds
Modern breeding methods have made it possible to observe many different varieties of corn today.
There are only 8 species themselves, only 5 of which are of value to humans.
- Tooth-shaped. One of the most grown types of maize. It is capable of producing a very good harvest from a relatively small area of land. It received its name for the peculiarity of the appearance of the grains, similar to human teeth. Dental corn is grown mainly in America and is usually used to feed livestock.
- Sugar. This is perhaps the most familiar and favorite type of corn for residents of the post-Soviet space. This fame is due to the ability to obtain a bountiful harvest combined with high nutritional value (the amount of protein can reach 20 g per 100 g of product). And of course, the pleasant sweet taste played a significant role in popularizing the species.
- Silicic. This type of corn has an unusual appearance. In a ripe fruit, the grains vary in color, ranging from white to black. The silicon variety has its own distinct strengths and weaknesses. The advantages include good resistance to low temperatures, a strong immune system that prevents fungal diseases, and harvesting in a short time. As a negative point, some farmers note relatively low yields.
- Starchy. As you can easily guess from the name, this variety contains a lot of starch (up to 80%). And the purpose of its cultivation is, first of all, to obtain the starch itself, as well as flour, molasses and alcohol.
- Bursting. Another familiar type of corn. When heated, small grains tend to burst and significantly increase in size. Popcorn is made from this species. There is even information that the ancient Mayan Indians were also familiar with similar properties of maize and often consumed it in this form.
Cultivation
Corn is a rather unpretentious plant, although not as much as Khrushchev would have liked in his time. Therefore, it is worth considering that the ideal area for cultivation is the subtropics. There, maize can be sown directly into the ground in mid-May.
But even in warm conditions, the plant’s light-loving nature does not allow dense planting. Therefore, a large amount of corn growing in one place will not result in a gain in yield. On the contrary, from so many neighbors there will be strong competition for the main resource - sunlight. Based on this, the optimal area for plant development is 70x70 cm. The grain itself is planted in warm, moist soil to a depth of 5-7 cm.
The subtropics provide ideal conditions, but the southern territory is not the only place where maize can thrive. The growing area can expand significantly if you pay attention to some features. For example, in regions with short summers, planting seeds directly into the ground may not be the best idea. The harvest, if there is one, will be rather meager. The solution in this situation is quite simple - preliminary cultivation of seedlings in closed ground. Thus, the plant has much more time to form ripe fruits.
And no matter what climate a gardener wants to grow corn in, all efforts will be in vain without proper soil preparation. Only those who already have fertile black soil at their disposal are lucky. The rest will have to spend some time so that the land on the site is enriched with minerals. In the fall, you need to fertilize the soil with rotted manure or harvested humus. And during flowering, add ash as fertilizer, diluting it with water.
This way, the maize will have enough nutrients to form large ears.
Benefit
Those people who considered corn to be a gift from extraterrestrial intelligence or the gods did not just pay so much attention to it. The list of benefits brought by the plant is already a source of delight, and modern technologies still continue to reveal new advantages.
Food
More than once the article has mentioned the great nutritional value of corn for humans. In more detail, it contains a lot of vitamins: A, C, PP, E and group B. And it is also rich in 27 minerals from the periodic table. And on top of that, it has a high-quality protein composition, including such important essential amino acids as leucine, isoleucine and valine.
Medical
Almost all parts of maize are suitable for medicinal use. You can name many diseases that can be treated or at least do not begin their course thanks to this plant. Corn preparations have proven themselves well in urology as diuretics. And the ability to normalize blood glucose levels has made it possible to use maize in diabetic medications. And, of course, the fruits of the plant have a beneficial effect on the stomach.
Therefore, including corn soup in your diet for gastritis will be the right decision.
Ecological
This is exactly the area thanks to which new advantages of maize are revealed.
- Textile. Now, instead of synthetic fabric, they have learned to make organic fabric from corn, which has all the advantages of the former, but no longer poses a threat to the environment.
- Plastic. Global plastic production, accompanied by large carbon dioxide emissions, is still at a high level. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that only a small part of it is sent for recycling. The first plastic products produced will likely remain in the ground for another 300 years before they have time to decompose. But things are not getting so bad as more and more biodegradable materials are becoming available as an alternative. And today, a transparent bottle or bag of corn will be no different from its plastic counterparts, except for one thing: these things do not destroy the planet.
In conclusion, no matter how you choose to classify corn as a grain or a fruit, it will not diminish the contribution it has made and will continue to make to people's lives.
You will learn more about corn in the following video.
Sweet corn is the only “domesticated” species of the genus Corn from the Poa family. The plant is native to Central and South America. According to research results, this cereal came into cultivation almost nine thousand years ago, and even then it was cultivated in the fields by Indians. Corn, like potatoes, came to Europe after the discovery of the New World, and reached Russia directly in the second half of the 18th century. To date, a sufficient number of varieties and hybrids have been bred, which allows the plant to be grown in different climatic zones of the planet.
Sweet corn is a herbaceous annual with a fibrous root system. The roots penetrate to a depth of over 1.5 meters. A strong, erect stem, unlike most cereals, without an internal cavity. Often, aerial roots appear at the first internodes, extracting moisture and nutrients from the air.
ON THE PICTURE: The stem of Corn grows up to 2–3 m in height, but there are varieties with six-meter shoots.
Long narrow leaves with pointed tips are alternate. In a monoecious plant, male flowers, collected in paniculate inflorescences, are located at the top of the stem. Female cobs with bunches of pistillate columns are located in the axils of the leaves.
ON THE PICTURE: Female flowers of Corn.
ON THE PICTURE: Male flowers of Corn.
After the wind carries the pollen, fruits are formed. Round or almost cubic grains are closely pressed to each other.
ON THE PICTURE: Most often, corn grains are colored a delicate yellow color, although today you can find varieties with multi-colored (red, blue, black) fruits.
Sweet corn is eaten boiled, canned and dried. The high sugar and water content provided the famous juicy sweetness. The fruit contains vitamins C, PP, group B, potassium, fluorine, magnesium, iron. Cereal has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular and digestive systems.
Corn silk is used in official and folk medicine. Medicines, infusions and decoctions help with liver diseases and are used as bile and diuretics.
Animals readily eat the stems and leaves; chopped greens make excellent mulch.
Among Russian gardeners, the most popular varieties and hybrids are “Rannyaya Lakomka 121”, “Spirit”, “Dobrynya”, “Sundance”, “Ice Nectar”, “Early Golden 401”.
Growing
The time for sowing sweet corn in open ground depends on the climate and weather conditions: you need to wait until the soil warms up to +12°C. The seeds are pre-soaked for 12 hours in warm water, then germinated in a damp cloth.
It is recommended to plant Maize in two to four rows with a row spacing of 40–60 cm. Place two or three seeds in each hole, to a depth of about 5 cm. The distance between the holes is 30–35 cm. The grains are covered with moist soil and then dry.
ON THE PICTURE: After germination, weak seedlings are removed.
In regions with short summers, it is better to use the seedling method. Seed preparation remains the same (soaking, germination). The grains are planted one at a time in peat pots or seedling cassettes filled with a mixture of compost, peat, sand (2:1:1). The containers are placed in a bright place.
ON THE PICTURE: Shoots appear quickly; care consists of moderate watering and maintaining the air temperature within +18–20°C for a month.
1.5 weeks before planting in the garden, you should feed the sprouts with a weak solution of complex mineral fertilizers. Handling must be done very carefully so as not to damage the root system. After planting, the plants are watered and the soil is mulched.
You can only get your own seeds from varieties; the result from propagating hybrids is not predictable. To do this, several ears are left until fully ripe - the wrapper of modified leaves is removed from them and placed in a warm place.
ON THE PICTURE: After a month, completely dried seeds are removed and stored in paper bags.
Diseases and pests
Caring for the plant is not difficult. One of the main conditions for obtaining a decent harvest is the destruction of weeds. Corn is quite drought-resistant, but it cannot do without watering at all.
ON THE PICTURE: Moisturizing is especially necessary during the formation and ripening of cobs.
After rain or watering, you need to carefully loosen the soil so as not to touch the roots. In addition, it is necessary to promptly remove side shoots.
The first feeding is carried out in the phase of five to eight leaves (potassium salt and nitrate or a solution of bird droppings 1:15). The second time the plant is fertilized with potassium and phosphorus before flowering, the third time with complex minerals when the cobs appear.
Sweet corn is harvested at the stage of milk ripeness, when the wrapper turns yellow and the silk threads turn brown. It is best to selectively pick the heads of cabbage early in the morning and immediately begin cooking or canning.
Possible difficulties
The best protection for cereals from diseases and pests is seed treatment. If the planting material has not been processed at the seed plant, immediately before sowing it is necessary to soak the grains in a solution of fungicide and insecticide.
Observing the foliage will allow you to timely determine and compensate for the lack of minerals. Yellowing and drying of leaves is the result of a lack of nitrogen. Redness indicates an urgent need to add phosphates. The stem stops growing, and the edges of the leaf blades seem burned due to potassium deficiency.
Collected seeds cannot be stored at low temperatures and high humidity. In this case, they become moldy.
To get cobs with strong grains, sweet corn needs help with pollination. During flowering, you should gently shake the plant so that pollen from the male flowers moves to the female ones. It is advisable to carry out the procedure several times and preferably in the morning.
Corn is deservedly considered the oldest plant. The golden cob with dense grains is familiar to everyone. Corn is a plant cultivated almost everywhere on an industrial scale. It has become a necessary feed, food and industrial crop.
Description of culture
Corn is classified as a cereal. Its cob, which is eaten, is a grain (seed), and not a fruit with pulp. Although the grains of young corn are very juicy and meaty. You can determine which family a plant belongs to by its structure. Botanists clearly classify corn as a relative of grains.
Corn, also known as maize (Zea mays) is a tall herbaceous plant with cobs. This is an annual crop from the cereal family. Can reach three meters in length.
The root system is fibrous, penetrating to great depths (up to 1.5 m), and well developed. The grain has one embryonic root, which, as it develops, reaches a considerable length. It remains functional throughout the life of the plant. Then lateral roots appear, followed by adventitious roots.
Large roots extending from the lower nodes act as supports for the tall stem, providing stability.
The stalk of corn is straight and quite thick (up to 8 cm). There is no emptiness inside; unlike many cereals, the trunk consists of loose parenchyma. The leaves have a linear-lanceolate shape. They are large and tough. The length reaches 1 m and the width is up to 12 cm.
Corn is classified as a monoecious plant. There are male flowers that are collected in large panicles and located at the top of the stem. The female inflorescences are located on the cobs and grow in the axils of the leaves. These are the so-called corn silks (thread-like fibers). Once pollinated, they then form a fruit (seed).
The grains fit tightly together on the core. An ear of corn can hold hundreds of kernels. Most often, they are yellow in various shades. Can be: black, red, purple. Corn is a vegetable or a cereal - this becomes clear when comparing the main distinguishing features of the family. The structure of the cob testifies in favor of the cereal.
History of the origin of corn
The lands of modern Mexico are recognized as the birthplace of corn. They began to grow it about 11 thousand years ago. The ancestor of corn was then many times smaller. Theories about the origin of the cultivated plant species are different:
Many breeders adhere to the first hypothesis. Maize, even before the arrival of Europeans, grew in the north and south of America. Since the 15th century, the plant began to spread at high speed throughout the continent. For this, new varieties were needed, which stimulated the development of crop breeding and led to the formation of different varieties of corn.
Types of corn
Over the past millennia, many types of corn have evolved. Based on grain morphology and shape, it is customary to distinguish seven main varieties of the crop:
There are several more less common species: caragua, nosed corn, Japanese. These species and their varieties are used for growing for silage, for feed, and for decorative purposes.
Corn cultivation
Corn has many advantages over other crops. The plant is unpretentious, it is not afraid of difficult weather conditions (resistant to drought, high temperatures, winds). Its grains have excellent nutritional and feed qualities. Growing this cereal is economically profitable.
Corn is a heat-loving crop, but it is resistant to cold. Seeds begin to germinate when the soil temperature reaches +10ºС. The first shoots can tolerate frosts down to -3ºС. Although the plant is less moisture-loving, it requires a high water content in the soil. Especially during the period of grain formation and ripening. The growing season lasts from 84-140 days, depending on the variety.
The soil for sowing should be light and loose. Sandy loam, loamy and chernozem soils, which have a slightly alkaline or neutral reaction, are considered the best. If the soil is well fertilized, then a high yield can be achieved on sod-podzolic and drained drill soils.
It is useful to fertilize. Twice: during the formation of 3-4 leaves, before the appearance of panicles. For example, if there is a lack of phosphorus, which is a necessary supplement, the plant will slow down and the leaves will turn reddish.
Organic and mineral fertilizers are used. Organic mixtures are applied before plowing the soil. The amount of fertilizer must comply with the standards.
Corn is grown in two ways:
It is necessary to follow the seed sowing scheme. Corn is a cross-pollinated plant. Plant in rows or using the square-cluster method. The row spacing is 60 cm, in the row - every 40 cm. You can use the conveyor principle for varieties with different ripening periods. Seeds are sown at intervals of 10-15 days. The depth of the impact is about 7 cm.
It is not recommended to cultivate corn for several years in a row in one field (place): it is alternated with other cereals (wheat), legumes, and root crops.
Seeds are planted by the end of April or in the first half of May. Depends on the region. Further care comes down to watering, loosening and thinning the sprouts. When they grow to 20-25 cm, the side shoots (stepchildren) must be removed. This will increase productivity. Artificial pollination can be carried out.
The benefits of corn
The benefits of this tasty cob are difficult to overestimate. This is a valuable food crop. Rich in vitamins and microelements. Contains large quantities of vitamins E, A, PP and B. The composition includes about 27 elements from the periodic table. Corn has little energy value, so it is included in the menu of many diets. It normalizes the condition of the gastrointestinal tract, tones the muscles, and can rejuvenate the body.
Boiled corn is especially useful for people with diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. It is suitable for allergy sufferers. The cereal is valuable because the grains, when heat treated, do not lose their beneficial properties.
Corn cobs and various parts of the plant are used in many areas:
This is not a complete list of uses and uses of corn. Finding out which family corn belongs to is not difficult. This is only necessary for specialists for correct classification. It is much more important to know and appreciate the beneficial properties of this irreplaceable plant.
Corn is a herbaceous, heat-loving plant, which is grown by many summer residents. Of course, in order to get a good harvest of this wonderful crop, certain agricultural techniques must be followed. First of all, you need to choose the right one. You should also decide where exactly it will grow on the site. And, of course, during the growing process, this crop, like any other, needs to be properly fed and watered.
general description
Corn is an annual plant. In nature, there are only 6 varieties of it. However, only this variety, depending on the variety, can reach a height of 1.5-3 m as a garden and agricultural crop. Unlike most other representatives of cereals, the stalk of corn is not empty, but filled with tissue. Its thickness is usually 3-7 cm.
In the lower part, this plant forms supporting aerial roots. The leaf length of corn can reach up to 1 m, and the width - up to 10 cm. The flowers of this plant are unisexual. The male ones are collected in panicles and grow at the very top of the stem. Female flowers form cobs located in the axils. The color of corn seeds is usually bright yellow. But there are also varieties with white, red or black grains. The shape and size of the seeds of this crop may vary.
Popular varieties
Corn is a southern plant whose cobs take a long time to ripen. Therefore, for the Urals and Siberia it is worth choosing mainly its early varieties. The most productive hybrids, producing harvests by mid-August, include the following:
Sugar F1.
Sundance F1.
Also, under certain conditions, at a dacha in the middle zone you can get a good harvest of mid-season corn. Such, for example, as:
Lingonberry.
Late varieties of this crop are mainly suitable only for Ukraine and the southern regions of the Russian Federation. The most popular corn hybrids of this group are Russian popping and Polaris.
Variety Sundance F1
This powerful early-ripening hybrid produces mature ears within 60-65 days after planting. Sundance F1 grain is usually used for food at the stage of milk maturity, fresh or canned. This variety received good reviews from summer residents, first of all, precisely for the excellent taste of the cobs. The Sundance F1 hybrid is also praised for its drought and frost resistance. However, this variety does not like shading and poor soils. Corn is sown (photos of it can be seen below) Sundance F1 in early May.
Hybrid Trophy F1
The growing season of this variety is 75 days. The Trophy F1 hybrid should be planted in a well-lit place, without thickening. The ears of this variety are very long (up to 23 cm) and sweet. The grain has a honey color. You can eat cobs either fresh or boiled. Some housewives also preserve grain of this variety for the winter.
Sugar F1
This is a very popular good variety of corn, the fruits of which begin to ripen already 70-80 days after planting. The grains of the hybrid Sugar F1 are very tender, juicy and sweet. The cob of this corn has an average length (up to 20 cm). The variety has earned its popularity not only for its good taste, but also for its resistance to diseases such as bladder smut.
Hybrid Lingonberry
This mid-season corn begins to ripen 85-89 days after planting. The cob of Lingonberry is quite short - 18 cm. But the grain of this variety is very large and has a pleasant bright yellow color. Like many other varieties of corn, Lingonberry does not tolerate shade at all. A site for it should be chosen with light, fertile soil. Lingonberry cobs are best consumed boiled or canned.
Hybrid Pearl
The ripening period for this corn is 80-85 days. Its cobs are of medium length (up to 20 cm) and have a bright yellow color. You can use Pearl corn grains for cooking or canning. The advantages of this hybrid for summer residents, among other things, include high productivity and resistance to various types of fungal and bacterial diseases.
Corn Mermaid
This variety is perhaps the most popular among summer residents of middle-income Russia. Its main advantage is considered to be simply phenomenal resistance to disease. There is almost never any need to treat Rusalka corn. The ears of this variety begin to ripen 80-90 days after the first shoots appear. Their length is average - up to 20 cm. The color of the seeds of corn of the Rusalka variety is lemon.
Late varieties
The Russian bursting hybrid ripens 90-95 days after planting. Its cob is very thin and has a conical shape. A characteristic feature of the variety is the cracking popcorn grain. Russian popping prefers soils that are light, fertile, and well-moistened. This variety is usually grown for flakes and puffed corn.
Long (up to 23 cm) ears of the Polaris hybrid are excellent for canning and fresh consumption. This variety is valued by summer residents, among other things, for its resistance to diseases and aging. Polaris grains are long and have excellent taste. This corn should be planted on light, fertile soils.
How to choose the right place
Corn is a crop that primarily prefers very well-lit areas. Therefore, it is usually planted on the south side of the garden or vegetable garden. At the same time, the largest harvests can be harvested by placing corn on a hill. The best predecessors for this culture are:
How to prepare a garden bed
The area chosen for corn should be dug up in the fall. At the same time, manure and phosphorus fertilizers should be added to the soil. It is advisable to improve acidic soil with lime, chalk or dolomite flour. In the spring, before planting, the bed for corn only needs to be loosened a little.
When to sow
It is usually done in open ground immediately after the air temperature outside warms up to +12 C. In Ukraine and the southern regions of Russia, this is approximately the end of April. In the middle zone, sowing is usually done in mid-May. In the Urals and Siberia, the best planting time is considered to be early June. A sign that it is time to sow this plant is the presence of cherries.
Corn is a relatively unpretentious crop that can be grown using conventional technology (planting directly into the ground) or using seedlings. In the latter case, the seeds are placed in cups with pre-prepared soil mixture in mid-April (for the middle zone). You can take regular garden soil and add well-rotted manure to it. It is not recommended to keep cups with seeds in a very warm room. Good corn seedlings can only be obtained at an air temperature of no more than 20 degrees. It is best to install cups on a south window. If the seedlings do not get enough sunlight, they will begin to stretch and grow very weak.
How to properly prepare seeds
Before planting, corn grains should be placed in the sun for about 5 days. Then they need to be placed in warm water for an hour. Next, the seeds are dried. Before planting, it is advisable to dust the grains with hexachlorane or granosan according to the instructions. This will prevent infection of young seedlings by pathogenic microorganisms, fungi or harmful insects.
How to plant correctly
It is highly not recommended to be late with sowing corn. This can lead to a significant reduction in yield. The depth of seed placement during planting on light soils should be 6 cm, on heavy soils - 4 cm. The optimal distance between individual plants for most varieties is 35 cm. The only exception is very tall corn. Seeds of such varieties are planted at a distance of 45 cm from each other. The space between the rows of corn should be approximately 70 cm. Place 3-4 grains per hole. Thinning is carried out after 7-8 leaves appear on the plants. At the same time, the strongest bush is left in the hole.
How to water corn
The soil under this crop should not be moistened too often, but abundantly. After watering, the soil under each plant should get wet by at least 10 cm. Under no circumstances should the soil in the beds be allowed to dry out too much. Half-empty ears and low yields are the main consequences of insufficient watering of a crop such as corn. The photo below clearly demonstrates the result of overdrying plants.
How to feed
The first time corn is fertilized approximately 20 days after planting. In this case, a solution of mullein prepared in a ratio of 1:11 is usually used. You can also water the plants with diluted bird droppings (1:20-25). Additionally, it is worth adding phosphate-potassium fertilizers to the soil. This will be especially useful if the corn leaves become wavy around the edges. This form indicates a lack of potassium.
Weeding and pinching
Corn is a plant whose weeds usually have to be removed only in the first couple of weeks after planting. This culture is very strong and takes a lot of nutrients from the ground. Therefore, no weeds usually grow under it. In the phase of active development of green mass in corn, it is necessary to remove the side shoots. The fact is that they take a lot of vitality from the plant. And this, in turn, greatly affects productivity.
After the corn grows to about 20-30 cm, it is advisable to mulch the soil in the garden bed. It is best to use well-rotted horse or cow manure for this purpose. You can also cover the soil under the plants with regular dried grass.
Harvesting in the country and harvesting corn for silage in the fields
When is the best time to pick the cobs is, of course, a matter of taste for the owner of the plot. Some people like their sweet corn unripe. Others prefer ripe, cooked cobs. In any case, it is not recommended to store fresh corn for too long. The cobs should be eaten or preserved no later than 20 days after they are picked.
At the dachas, the harvest grown is, of course, simply collected by hand. Farmers who cultivate this crop over large areas use special machines for harvesting corn. This technique is something like a small combine harvester with a special header. The cutting device is usually located in front of the machine. Since corn is usually grown on agricultural land for livestock feed, it is cut off completely - the green mass along with the cobs.
