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Post by philagardener on Jul 10, 2017 20:40:29 GMT -5
You could try storing some excess pollen for later pollinations - keep it dry and cold.
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Post by walt on Jul 10, 2017 22:08:31 GMT -5
Have you successfully used stored corn pollen?
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Post by philagardener on Jul 11, 2017 18:37:43 GMT -5
Not personally but I am aware of reports from corn geneticists who say they store freshly collected pollen in the refrigerator for a week or two to use in making crosses. reed made it sound like collecting from his plants would be pretty easy, so there isn't much to lose. |
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Post by reed on Jul 11, 2017 19:11:41 GMT -5
Yes, collecting it is quite easy, storing it I'm not so sure. Maybe it's our humidity but it tends to clump up or stick to the collector pretty quick if it isn't used immediately. Maybe it would work but I expect trying to store it would just end up with something akin to pollen paste. If there was a way to dry it without killing it before storing, it might work.
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Post by steev on Jul 13, 2017 0:13:47 GMT -5
So you can't smear on pollen paste? A q-tip might work. Do you feel obligated to fake being a bee, or are you just repelled by committing an "unnatural" act with a plant? Is there a you-tube category for that sort of thing? I'm too repressed to check.
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Post by reed on Jul 19, 2017 8:02:52 GMT -5
Gotta comment again on the Neandercorn. As advertised  , it has lots of shanks per stalk and lots of ears per shank, I like that. As reported earlier however pollen had largely run out for the later forming ears. Not to worry, several plants have tassel ears and some of them are releasing pollen. I don't know about tassel ears, whether it is considered good or bad but I find it interesting enough keep it in the gene pool at least for a season or two. A plant that formed decent ears with tassels sticking out would be pretty neat I think and I bet a good seller as ornamental. I got mixed results on Harmony grain corn, some earlier maturing ears are very nice looking and shared pollen with the earlier Neanderconr. Some Harmony has issues with the ears overgrowing the shucks, not good in my climate as it attracts too many critters. Not too worried about it though as most doing that tasseled a little later than the reset. I had this giant turnip, about the size of a garbage can lid I suppose.  Don't know when it came up, maybe last fall, maybe sometime early spring. I just left it there to see how big it would get and planted my tomato patch around it. It made lots of seed and died down but started growing lots of new little shoots around where the old stem was, I still just left it there. Having forgotten about it by now I was out tying up my tomatoes in the 95 degree afternoon sun when suddenly my naked left foot was enveloped to the ankle in a pool of hot ooze. A true sliming, reminiscent of Ghost Busters, accompanied by an audible pop and splash . The stench was mighty. |
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Post by richardw on Jul 22, 2017 0:21:35 GMT -5
Good to hear i'm not the only naked bare footed gardener about reed, though sticking ya foot on a rooting turnip is better than stepping on a dead hedgehog. |
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Post by reed on Jul 22, 2017 9:05:37 GMT -5
Never saw an actual hedgehog but from pictures I reckon a rotten turnip is a better choice for stomping barefoot.
Gotta mention the Neandercorn again. Crazy stuff, stalks with ears pretty much dried down are growing more shanks and silks. Pollen production isn't keeping up though even with the tassel ears. The earlier ears are crossed with Harmony and descendants of Painted Mountain and vise versa. I probably got enough to cull the PM that made ears too low for my liking and Harmony that made ears that overshot the shucks but I'm thinking I will keep them in for next year, just in smaller proportions. Also will plant staggered patches to provide pollen for the later ears on the Neandercorn. Really fun stuff, bet it can be turned into all kinds of great varieties. Just need to beef up the ear size some and add some color.
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Post by walt on Jul 22, 2017 13:10:45 GMT -5
I have 3 tassle ears on O'odham 60 day flour corn. I've never seen it do that before. This is the first time I've planted so late, as part of the ASAP project. So I'm guessing that it is a response to the heat and/or drought.
I am aware there is a tassel ear gene which breeds as a recessive gene. I'm pretty sure O'odham 60 D F doesn't hae it, that in this case it it stress related.
Back in 1982, I got some "tripsicoid corn" from Drs. Harlan and DeWet. It was the result of pollinating corn with pollen from tetraploid Tripsicum dactyloides, backcrossing several times to corn. Most of the population had tassel ears, as well as most ears being on long shanks that put the silks right up with the main tassel. Again I don't think that population had the known tassel ear gene, but rather a different gene(s) from tripsicum.
Interesting trait.
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Post by reed on Aug 3, 2017 7:19:38 GMT -5
Love, love, love my Neandercorn, Thanks Joseph Lofthouse . I admit it is crazy stuff, tassels sticking out of ears, silks sticking out of tassels, never had so much fun growing corn. I'm gonna turn it into all kinds of interesting stuff. Just need to increase ear size a little and add in some color but don't want to lose it's crazy aspect in the process. Here are some ears from it this year. Unfortunately I picked some a little early and might not all be good and matured but lots are. Also managed to get a little color, I guess from my mixed up flint/flour patch next door. The sweet kernels on the ears to the left must have come in the seed. Cool, I'll just plant them in the sweet patch next year.  Here is one of my favorite individual plants, it and one other are later than the rest and I'm afraid they may not be well pollinated but I won't make that mistake again. Next year I'll stagger planting of it and the flour/flint that was pollinated with its pollen to make up for the all over the place maturity. I hope I get some seed from this plant as I love the growth habit and it is the only one with the red silks.  . |
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Post by philagardener on Aug 3, 2017 20:22:43 GMT -5
I'm growing Stowell's Evergreen (a white sweet corn) for the first time this year and was surprised to find it has red silks too. Very pretty!  |
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Post by steev on Aug 4, 2017 2:22:19 GMT -5
I've always enjoyed red-haired ladies.
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Post by jondear on Aug 4, 2017 18:50:24 GMT -5
The majority of my sweet corn project have red silks, with a smattering of white and pink as well.
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Post by reed on Aug 4, 2017 20:59:01 GMT -5
I have a good range of color in my sweet and flour/flint mixes both in silks and tassels but only that one Neandercorn plant had it. I don't know that being colorful has any real advantage except that I enjoy seeing it.
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Post by steev on Aug 4, 2017 23:58:14 GMT -5
Well, yeah!
As I've posted, I'm a slut for pretty.
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, it has lots of shanks per stalk and lots of ears per shank, I like that. As reported earlier however pollen had largely run out for the later forming ears. Not to worry, several plants have tassel ears and some of them are releasing pollen. I don't know about tassel ears, whether it is considered good or bad but I find it interesting enough keep it in the gene pool at least for a season or two. A plant that formed decent ears with tassels sticking out would be pretty neat I think and I bet a good seller as ornamental. 
Don't know when it came up, maybe last fall, maybe sometime early spring. I just left it there to see how big it would get and planted my tomato patch around it. It made lots of seed and died down but started growing lots of new little shoots around where the old stem was, I still just left it there. Having forgotten about it by now I was out tying up my tomatoes in the 95 degree afternoon sun when suddenly my naked left foot was enveloped to the ankle in a pool of hot ooze. A true sliming, reminiscent of Ghost Busters, accompanied by an audible pop and splash . The stench was mighty. 
