Mutant Corn

I harvested our first corn ears of the 2013 season today. The kernels on the ears were fully formed, although some of the kernels were too plump from being left on the stalk a few days too long. Here is a photo of them:

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One of our corn stalks is a mutant. It has 3 corn ears on it, as seen in the next photo, which is the most I have ever seen on a single stalk. This stalk even grew suckers that also appear to be generating their own ears of corn. Typically, each stalk only produces one or two ears at the most.

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Here are more photos of the same corn patch. Many of the stalks have one or two large plump ears already. I planted these corns by seed in early April and have given them little extra care or fertilizer since then other than regular watering with an automatic micro-spary system. I planted the seeds very close together about 12 inches apart in three rows. Most of the stalks have grown to their full height, but a few of the stalks that sprouted later got crowded by the others and did not reach their full heigth. The stunted stalks tend to produce small ears or none at all.

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July 23 2013 11:54 pm | Corn