Grow Your Own Magazine

I'm planning on growing sweetcorn "sunrise" this year for yummy cobs. My children would like to grow some sweetcorn "strawberry popcorn" for popcorn. Is it likely that these will cross pollinate if they are grow near to each other? How would this affect any resulting crop? Sorry to be thick!

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

Lainey
It won't affect the crop for eating only problem would arise if you saved the crop for seed then you would not be able to guarentee the type would remain true

Cool! Thanks Paul!

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

Hi Lainey

Just reading Sarah Raven's veg book, and she says if growing F1 Supersweet types (not sure if your variety is?), you should only grow other supersweet types nearby, or they will cross-pollinate and the sweet effect of the F1 will be lost.

BTW, what is 'sunrise' like to eat?

I grew 'swift' (I think!) last year, didn't sow in pots till April, and was pleasantly surprised with a good crop.

This is my first time growing sweetcorn, so not sure. It's not F1 and it's described as.... large heavy cobs, compact grower. I let you know how it goes.

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

Oh dear - and I thought cross pollination had something to do with angry bees

Teeheehee!

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

SARAH
I should think it would be almost impossible to keep sweetcorn isolated on an allotment, by the way I thought eating sweetcorn was just an excuse to eat half a pound of butter without feeling guilty LOL

I've heard this story about keeping certain types of sweetcorn isolated from other types so as to keep the sweetness, but really can't understand why. As I understand it the seed (corn) produced already has it's characteristics set by the genes of the seed sown that year. Yes, I can understand that if you save seed from that plant and sow it then it may (or may not) produce exactly the same characteristics in the new plant (this is how selective breeding works). I still fail to see how cross pollination could possibly affect the current year's crops (be it sweetcorn, beans, squashes or anything else)

Well I asked a similar question last year as I had F1 sweetcorn and minipop growing in the tunnel. I was told to have at least 20 feet between them. I couldn't quite get this in the tunnel but went ahead with it anyway. It didn't seem to affect the crop. I had a good 3/4 cobs on both the F1 and the minipop. And they were both unbelievably sweet.

In the tunnel there is no wind to pollinate so I do have the give the "heads" a bit of a shake each morning and I get covered in pollen doing that. So I must have been as guilty as the sweetcorn for cross pollinating !!

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Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.
~ Mary Kay Ash

Right. just to clear this up, there is NO NEED to seperate sweetcorn varieties grown for eating. Supersweet, Extratender, ornamental, mini or strawberry...makes no difference, they will still taste the same. You won't be able to grow the true variety from the seeds though, although as most sweetcorn varieteis are F1's you wouldn't be able to anyway.

I work for a veg breeding company, so i should know!!

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There's vegetable growing in the family, but I must be adopted
Happy Gardening!

Thanks Potea - thats a great help. I knew someone would be along at some point to put us all right!

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~
Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway.
~ Mary Kay Ash