Corn, Sweet
All hybrid sweet corn is treated.
One pound plants four, 100 foot rows and feeds a family of five.
Make first planting after last frost. For an early crop, try an early maturing variety and plant the last week of April. Sow seeds 1 inch deep, 4 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart. Thin plants to 8 – 12 inches apart. Plant in blocks of 4 rows to assure proper pollination. A continuous supply can be had by making successive plantings.
SU – Normal sugary varieties are the standard type of sweet corn enjoyed for many years. Still good corn, but if they’re not used immediately after picking, their sugar converts to starch and then they no longer have the sweet taste.
SE – Sugary enhanced varieties with increased sugars and tenderness that maintain their quality over a longer period of time. No isolation from standard sweet corns is necessary nor will it affect quality. Homozygous denotes that both parents of the hybrid are SE. Heterozygous denotes that one parent of the hybrid is SE.
Sh2 – Supersweet varieties that contain the shrunken gene and have higher sugar content than SU or SE varieties. The Sh2 gene greatly blocks the conversion of sugar to starch which allows these hybrids to hold their sweetness much longer than SU or SE types. Supersweet hybrids generally require warm soil (60 degrees) or higher for optimum germination. Isolate from field corn, popcorn and other sweet corns.
SE-Sh2 – Synergistic cross between supersweet Sh2 and sugar enhanced SE varieties gives the best of both. Higher sugar content, more tender, sweeter, longer flavor holding ability and more cold tolerance. Isolate from field corn, popcorn and other sweet corns.