Mixed Plantings of Sweet Corn of Varying Endosperm Genetics
Notes:
This diagram describes these different types of sweet corn. Down the left are 5 types of sweet corn, and those same types are across the top. An “OK” means cross-pollination between the two will not cause a problem.
The sugary and sugar-enhanced types, I think people are well aware, can cross pollinate with no problem. Triplesweet and Synergistic here refer to sugar-enhanced types that also have the shrunken-2 gene, and develop ears with mixed kernel types: some kernels are sugar-enhanced and some are supersweet. These types can be planted alongside su or se types because cross-pollination does not cause a problem. So, in these trials, all of these types were planted in what I’ve called the “se” trial. What I’ve called here ‘improved supersweets’ are varieties that have 100% shrunken-2 kernels, but also include se genes that improve eating quality. They can be planted with the regular supersweets with no problem, but must be isolated from the other types.