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Post by blueadzuki on Oct 29, 2014 14:44:31 GMT -5
The stand at the Farmer's market that produced all that odd corn just got their material in for the year, and again there is a lot of odd stuff  The first 3 cobs ALL have some floury kernels (#4 might too) ad several have stippling patterns closer to what shows up on full size corn than what can usually be found in the miniature popcorn. (this is sort of in that middle ground between miniature and full size) A few may also have some GG DNA too, given the color palette. |
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Post by blueadzuki on Nov 5, 2014 16:10:44 GMT -5
Week 2 and an even better haul  ears #14-20 all seem to have at least some flour though final determination will of course have to wait until I can actually shell them. (When I finally did the last batch it turns out #1 isn't so much floury as simply having a slightly larger than normal core. It's still basically popcorn (though most of the kernels are not regular enough in shape to pop well) The real nice surprise of the day was #13 which actually has some sweetcorn kernels (only the second time I found that in a miniature corn) #33 (the one not in a row) is actually another thing I have to deal with with the stand, they sometimes tie runty full size ears in with the mini stuff. #33 is such an ear (though a nice shade of blue) |
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Post by blueadzuki on Nov 12, 2014 16:58:22 GMT -5
Week 3
#34-37 are in the "might have some floury material" category, everything else isn't #38 might have one or two sweet kernels on it, though more likely they are just aborted ones (actually a few look like examples of the "what happens when sweet pollen hits floury corn thing Carol mentioned.)
After yesterday's trials (where I more or less tried to pop some of every cob I have gotten this year from the stand) I have decided that, from now on, a lot of the cobs I am not even going to bother to shell. If it has kernels I think I can make use of, I'll do it, but if it doesn't it's just going into the pile for decoration (if it's nicely intact) or out to the critters (if it has enough mold or damage to make it unsightly). There have been a few poppers in the mix (though I'm not sure any have gotten anywhere near the level of popping a decent popcorn is SUPPOSED to have) but by and large, the various other DNA strains that have gotten in here have basically ended these corns usability as popcorns.
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Post by blueadzuki on Nov 19, 2014 16:30:26 GMT -5
Week #4
51-57 might have some flour; 51 may have a little dent.
I think 61-62 may have some strawberry corn DNA given the ball shaped ears (so may 63, but the tip is broken off, so the actual ear shape is ambiguous).
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Post by flowerweaver on Nov 20, 2014 14:33:26 GMT -5
The one on the bottom row with the purple husk looks interesting. I wonder what's in its genetics.
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Post by blueadzuki on Nov 20, 2014 15:51:58 GMT -5
As far as I can tell, that one is either pure pop or pop-flint (you never can really tell the difference until you actually try and pop it) Though I haven't taken that one apart yet (no flour and no interesting kernel patterns so not high priority). If I do, I'll let you know results
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Post by blueadzuki on Nov 20, 2014 20:35:35 GMT -5
Little surprise in Tuesday's pop tests (hope the color comes through)  I'm both surprised and a little regretful about this. Surprised that there is colored endosperm germplasm this far north (up till now, I've mostly only seen it in Andean) and regretful I didn't find this out until AFTER I popped it; I would have loved to keep this one in the breeding pool. Also sorry there is no feasible way of testing for further ones (beyond the fact that most purple endospermed corns look dark purple from the outside there is no real way to tell short of taking a slice out of every potential kernel (which means keeping every purple kernel until the spring even though less than 1% will have the trait, if that) |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Nov 20, 2014 21:48:05 GMT -5
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Post by darrenabbey on Nov 21, 2014 2:10:51 GMT -5
You've just given me yet another breeding project to think about.
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Post by philagardener on Nov 21, 2014 6:50:48 GMT -5
You've just given me yet another breeding project to think about.  |
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Post by blueadzuki on Nov 21, 2014 18:00:18 GMT -5
You've just given me yet another breeding project to think about. In that case I had better tell what I know (or think I do) about how to tell if a kernel has the trait, based on what I have seen with Andean stuff (which at least you can cut windows in) Purple edoe'd corn tends to be really dark purple of aleurone from the outside; basically what Carol would refer to as black; hard corn too dark to let light through (I haveseen purp endo kernels that were a bit lighter in shade from the outside, but that was in soft starch corn, which is opaque. In a hard corn,like popcorn it would look black no matter what) In fact purple endo corn is usually purple in the third way too' it's usually purple of germ as well; really dark,as in the kind where the only way you can see the germ is due to the recessed nature (which I suppose means that, in a corn meeting Joseph's standard of no indentation, the germ would be complete invisible.) None of these traits are definitive (a kernel can have all of them and probably will STILL be white/yellow inside) but most of the ones that DO have them (there may be other colors as well, but I have never seen them.) |
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