The way this works is you separate the time different varieties are pollinating by planting those varieties at very different times. Say at least 3 or 4 weeks apart.
This means that one variety is done pollinating before the other starts setting tassels. Separation by time can also be accomplished by planting varieties with vastly different tasseling times. Try planting an early maturing sweet corn with a late maturing popcorn. I understand this corn cross pollination is a bit complicated, and it can also be a bit of a pain in the neck.
Do your research before you plant different varieties of sweet corn together to be sure they wont cross. And remember that you can never plant popcorn or field corn Including those fancy colored decorative corns together with sweet corn.
Hi I'm Rick. And I am a gardening fanatic! I love growing organic fruits and vegetables in my backyard garden. And I love teaching others how to grow their own organic food! Do you have the same info on other types of crops that can cross pollinate too? Like the example you gave with the zucchini and pumpkin? Hiya Rick, I know this was an ice age ago relative to MT my time but these things last forever as long as you keep up your hosting.
Thanks for doing my research for me. Is it only for next year or this year. You answered the question. Also you jes gave me a fright. I decided this year to plant a couple of rows of a super sweet with my all time fav Golden Queen.
First time in a loooong time to try a different variety. I see I will have to stagger. Again thanka for that tid of smarts! Usually, each corn plant pollinates its close neighbors so some of your corn should be what you planted, even in a small plot. I didn't realize that the pollen parent affected the taste of the kernels in the very first generation. I thought the effect of those pollen genes was only seen in the next generation when the cross-pollinated F2 kernels are planted and grow into F2 plants.
I might be wrong. Both of those are hybrid corn varieties, so even if you only grew one of them, it's offspring would still be genetically diverse and probably highly variable in appearance and taste. I think I'll stick with it. If anything, the corn will be my stakes for my pole beans 1 Quote Post 5. I guess that the pollen parent DOES affect the taste, toughness and starchiness of the kernels in the first year! But if your varieties flower on different dates, there won;t be any cross-pollination: "When one type of corn tassels - letting its pollen loose - that pollen can land on the silks of any corn in the immediate area.
If only one variety of corn is silking at any given time, crossing cannot take place. This is usually the case in home gardens, where the varieties planted tend to have significantly different flowering and growing seasons.
There would have to be a 2 week window between flowerings and both those corn varieties are early - 70 to 80 days. Oh, well! I'll bet it will be tasty enough no matter who pollinates whom. Sweet corn Zea mays is a warm-weather crop that prefers U. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 to 8. These plants need full sun and a long, warm, frostless growing season. If you plant different varieties of sweet corn close together, you risk cross-pollination as sweet corn is pollinated by wind.
Cross-pollination can lead to starchy and inedible corn, and you no longer have a clear harvest or maturity date as varietal recommendations no longer apply. During the pollination stage, even the gentlest of breezes can result in pollination. Some fertilized kernels show arrested development. Figure 5. Center of corn ear that developed under drought.
The remains of several flowers that were not fertilized are apparent. Notice how kernels become round in shape when not bordered by other fertile kernels. Figure 6. Corn ear that developed under drought.
Although most unfertilized flowers were near ear tip, alos occurred at other regions throughout the ear. This ear has about kernels instead of to of a normal ear. Once pollination has occurred and at least one pollen grain has stuck onto a silk, several important steps are necessary to complete fertilization. This requires water and that water comes from the silk. So, water flows from the silk and into the pollen grain.
The pollen tube must find an entry point into the silk. Pollen tubes can grow along the outside surface of silks, but the longer they remain on the outside, the greater their vulnerability to dehydration and death. Silks have a waxy cuticle just like other plant parts, and pollen tubes may not be able to go through the cuticle. Fortunately, there are breaks in the cuticle especially on the hairs.
Pollen tubes usually find places to enter the silks and begin elongating down the inside of the silks. There are pathways within silks that help direct the elongating pollen tubes. It is possible for more than one pollen tube to enter a silk, but only one pollen tube will grow down the entire length of the silk and enter the ovule for fertilization.
The water to drive pollen tube elongation comes from the silk. It takes about 24 hours for the pollen tube to grow the entire silk length and if the silk loses water during that time the pollen tube may not complete its journey. One common result of reduced water status is a collapse of the silk near the ovary.
If this happens, pollen tube growth is prevented. Anything that prevents the pollen tube from entering the ovule will prevent fertilization and a kernel will not form Figures 4, 5, 6. Three nuclei plural of nucleus move from the pollen grain and into the pollen tube. One of the three nuclei directs pollen tube growth and will be not involved in fertilization. The other two nuclei travel down the pollen tube and enter into the ovule once the pollen tube completes its journey. One male nucleus combines with the female gamete to form the embryo within the kernel.
The other male gamete joins with two female nuclei to form the endosperm of the kernel. These two events are called double fertilization and are required for the kernel to form and begin growth. A day or two after fertilization occurs, the silk separates from the kernel and changes color as it dries.
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