|
Post by reed on Apr 10, 2016 8:13:46 GMT -5
In both my sweet and field corn projects I have varieties with wide ranges of maturity times. Generally I think the shorter season ones are also more cold tolerant so if I wait till warm enough to plant the long season and then even longer for the short I fear I will go nuts from impatience. So, I'm wondering about everyone's opinions and experiences in starting the long season ones now to transplant at the same time I plant the short season. I don't really care if yield suffers on the long season if I can get it's pollen shed to coincide with the short. Might it even tassel sooner if grown in stressed conditions?
Also wondering about planting in extremely overcrowded conditions not caring about production but instead just for pollen. I wonder if it might be a way to incorporate genetics from a lot of kinds into the ones I want to use as mothers.
|
|
|
Post by DarJones on Apr 11, 2016 15:03:40 GMT -5
corn tassels based on days above a critical temperature and based on day length. If you start the long season corn first, then 2 or 3 weeks later start the shorter season varieties, you should wind up with decent pollen overlap. .
|
|
|
Post by tippler on Apr 14, 2016 8:00:13 GMT -5
I wouldn't do it that way, but I am no expert. 2+ varieties crossed gives you hybrid f1 seed. Plant that and you will have some uniformity yet. Its not until you take that seed and replant it that seed, that all the recessive genes come out. So you really dont need a field of corn until your 3rd planting. When you plant the seeds from the hybrid u create this year, you wanna have as many as humanly possible.
Transplanting corn should probably be used as a last resort (tropical madness), so your not messing up the roots. You'd basically be selecting for crap u dont want, because you wont know why certain plants are growing better(might be slower at throwing roots, and thus better at transplanting). Same with jamming a billion pollen donors together. Your gonna end up with a ton of pollen from more individuals, but is that really what you want? I dont know. If space is the issue, take comfort in the idea that your making hybrids that first season anyway, so theres gonna be a lot more genentic combinations possible in 2 years anyway(keeping a huge pile of f1s that are very genetically similar isn't gonna make that big a difference IMO).
do like fusion said, and hold off on planting the short stuff. Its gonna work better. If your worried about cold germination, so some germination tests in your basement or other cool place, and see which ones can handle it strong.
|
|
|
Post by steve1 on Apr 14, 2016 13:22:38 GMT -5
You could also plant the different varieties at a gradient of spacings. I.e. Too close getting longer to above recommended. Some will be stunted and tassel/silk later. A useful way to get overlap, worked well for me, except for the day length sensitive Peruvian corn that was two months after.
|
|