Zapalote Chico

[reed]

I'm growing Zapalote Chico this year after learning about it one of Oxbow Farm's youtube videos. here is some information abut it:

www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/usos/maices/grupos/TropicalesPre/Zapalote_Ch.html


npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?id=1613720

Thought I should make some notes about it so when it's time to file my grow report for GRIN I can just check back.

Planting area is heavy clay, converted from scrub growth to garden in fall of 2014 and subject to some light shade in late afternoons. Location, southern Indiana 38.7478° N. No soil testing was done. 

Area was prepared in late April by tilling in composted chicken manure. On or about May 10 area was tilled again and seeded heavily with radishes. Corn seeds were planted on May 12 and rain came the day after. Approximately 60 of 100 seeds were planted in five 10' rows 2.5 feet apart.  First sprouts were seen on May 15 and and neared 100% germination within a few days. Radish seedlings in direct competition within the rows were hand pulled. 

Weather since germination has been mostly warm with highs in high 80s or low 90s with little rain. However plants are growing well with dark green appearance to the leaves. As of June 1 plants are approximately 6" tall. Shorter than adjacent plantings of other flour corns and crossed varieties but that is in keeping with the phenotype description of Zapalote Chico.

Also the description indicates that maturity could take place before arrival of fall army worms and ear worms become an issue. This make it difficult to judge effectiveness of Zapaote Chico's natural ability to counter those pests. The remaining 40 seeds will be planted later in an attempt to test that trait. Also if maturity of the first planted crop is early enough seed from it will be planted as well.  

[reed]

The first planting of the Zapalote Chico has matured too early too test its resistance to the ear worms but a second small patch should fall right into the time when they arrive. It is however an interesting variety. The silks have funny frizzy appearance to them. I wonder if goes along with and could be a visual indication of the worm fighting compound. 



Here is that same ear as it matures. The shucks are also a little odd the way they overlap each other in that diagonal pattern. The are extremely tight, like the ears are shrink wrapped in it and hard to get started in removing them. And if you want to pull them back and leave them on the ear, like if you wanted to sell them for ornamental it has to be done very carefully as they are  thick and crisp and easily break off.  



Here are a couple little secondary ears I picked cause I was impatient and wanted to see what it looked like. They are at most 1/4 the size of the nicer primary ears and not as mature. Also, if my camera and software was able to catch it you can see a little variation in color on the ear to the left. 



I think I like Zapalote Chico and definitely want to grow it again. 

[reed]

I went ahead and harvested the rest of the Zap Chico, here are some of my favorite ears.


I wish I had put in a ruler for scale cause they are small, only in range of three to five inches but I still think it is a great addition to the gene pool partly cause of the incredible  tight ear cover. You can see that one ear was attacked by a coon, who apparently gave up on getting to the prize. Some kernels were damaged but the ear mostly survived. I'v never seen corn that could fight off a coon before. 

Here is that fattest ear on the right peeled down. It took 27 shuck removals to get to the ear. By time I was done shucking all of it my fingers were stained purple.
 


Just for the heck of it I boiled down the shucks and submerged a white tee shirt which is now a nice purple color. Don't know if it will stay that way when washed but I image it will, at least partly.
I'll wash it outside in a bucket as the woman just bought a new wash machine and I ain't risking her wrath if she found out I used it in a non-approved manner. 

Zapalote Chico is gonna be a major part of my flour corn project from now on. Thanks oxbowfarm for making me aware of this variety. I managed to cross it both ways with some of your white flour corn and am real pleased with how it came out. 

[oxbowfarm]

Looks awesome reed. I want to try Zap chico husk tamales and see if the purple is enough to color the masa, or if it will all wash out by the time they are done.

I'm somewhat concerned about this extreme husk genetics leading to more ear rot in my climate, since such deep layers of such tight husks HAS to slow drying of the ear.

[reed]

I don't know how tamales are made but there is lots of color in those husks. The shirt I dipped in the dye I made turned a light bluish purple after being washed.

I'm a little worried about the dry down too but no problem with mold or anything so far. I also like the tight husk for keeping out bugs, no problem with that at all. I also have ears from a 1/2 dozen or so of my favorites of the Oxbow White Flour, long thin ears with great tip cover that flowered right in line and mixed with the ZC. They had strong stalks, no lodging with ears three to five feet off the ground.

A smaller late patch of both is maturing now, pollinated by the colored pericarp varieties, it should also test the ZC's resistance to the fall army worms.

[reed]

I harvested the last of the Zapalote Chico yesterday and I really like how it came out. This little patch was planted about the time I harvested the first one, so I'd say it is possible here to grow two generations in one season. Big thing I was interested in id the resistance to ear worms. I saw one awhile back working it's way into a zap chico ear and I just left it alone. The ear in the middle, turned upside down is the ear it attacked and it did get all the way through the husk but did almost no damage to the ear. 



This little patch and several other small planting of short season corns were planted together just to see how they all did with the worms and ALL other ears of ALL other varieties had significant damage from the worms. 

The plants that made the ears above were not detasseled but they were heavily hand pollinated with other varieties, those with colored pericarp and oxbowfarm 's white flour grex. I'm excited to go on with this next year. Looking for a short season, flour / ornamental corn that can be bred two generations per year. The fall worms were a major issue with my other attempts at this, but looks like zap chico really does have potential to solve that problem. 

[Javier]

Hello Reed,

I'm looking for Zapalote Chico seeds, do you know where I can find them? I will like to grow it in my garden next season.

Thank you,

Javier