When growing corn, it is important to choose the right variety, plant the seeds in a certain way. Top dressing, plant care is also of great importance. Corn can be grown not only in the southern regions, but also in the middle lane. To do this, she needs to create suitable conditions, and an unpretentious plant will delight with the harvest - the technology of growing corn is not complicated. By the way, you can collect not only the cobs, but also the fibers from their upper part. Dried fiber tea reduces appetite, which will appeal to those who have decided to lose weight. The green mass can be fed to livestock, so corn is an almost waste-free production.
Selection of varieties of corn for planting
Here are the varieties that give high yields, adapt well to weather conditions and require minimal maintenance:
- Triple sweetness;
- SUNDANCE;
- Suite 77;
- HONEY BANTAM;
- Strawberry;
- Swift.
- Triple sweetness. As the name implies, the variety is very sweet and unpretentious.
- SUNDANCE - early maturing variety, perfect for cold regions of the country. The cobs are large.
- Suite 77 - has very sweet grains, mid-season variety. The ears are very large, but the yield is moderate.
- HONEY BANTAM - differs from other similar species in that it has seeds of two colors. Early ripe variety.
- Strawberry. This corn has pomegranate-colored grains. The ear is small in size. It is an ornamental and at the time edible variety.
- Swift - early ripe corn variety, low stem, very sweet grains.
Planting corn seeds
Presowing preparation is quite simple, just place the seeds in a gauze bag, put it in the sun for 4 days, then put it in a potassium permanganate solution for 20 minutes, rinse, place in a container and put in a warm place. After 3–4 days, small roots will appear, then you can plant grains.
To get an early harvest, several seeds are planted in mid-April for seedlings, always in different containers, to a depth of 2 cm. In mid-May they are planted in the garden. If the variety is undersized, you can place this type of plant in the corners of the greenhouse. This is justified in cold regions.
In the middle latitudes, in the south, the swollen seeds are planted directly into the ground in open ground. The place for her needs a sunny one, she cannot stand even a small shade. Plant where there are no drafts or cold winds.
The land must be well drained, stagnant water is not allowed. Corn loves fertile soil with a high humus content. If the land is not fertile enough, add manure in the fall. In the spring, you can lay only well-ripened organic matter - compost or humus. The soil is dug up 2 weeks before planting, introducing a complex mineral fertilizer.
Corn is planted in a square-nesting way at a distance of 45 cm. The seed is lowered 3 × 4 cm into the soil spilled with water.
Growing corn
The culture loves infrequent but abundant watering. The soil should be soaked to a depth of 10-15 cm.
After the appearance of the 8th true leaf, the corn begins to grow intensively. Daily growth can reach 5-6 centimeters. Then lateral shoots - stepchildren - begin to form. There may be several reasons for their formation:
- low temperatures in the early stages of the growing season;
- applying a large amount of nitrogen fertilizers;
- sparse sowing.
To eliminate the last factor, some gardeners sow seeds even more often, laying 2 grains in the nest.
You can leave the stepsons, then after harvesting the main bud, from the lateral points of the stem, in the axils of the leaves, small cobs are formed. If you want the main one to be large, remove the side ones by cutting them off with scissors.
For better pollination, when panicles grow at the top of the stem, shake them slightly in the morning. Then the pollen from one plant will fly to another, as a result, large cobs with large grains will form.
Fertilizing corn plants
Corn is responsive to organic feeding. Therefore, 15–20 days after the emergence of seedlings, they are fed with a solution of mullein (1:11) or bird droppings (1:20). Or, at the stage of formation of 3–5 leaves, you can make a solution prepared from ammonium nitrate diluted in water according to the instructions. After another half month, feed the plants with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
The lack of certain microelements can be recognized by their appearance. If the plants are undersized, the leaves are pale green, then there is not enough nitrogen. If in the early stages of development there is not enough phosphorus, the growth of corn slows down, the edges of the leaves turn purple. Leaves signal potassium deficiencythat become wavy. Color may also change. The edges of the leaves turn pale at first and then dark brown.
When these signs appear, it is necessary to feed the plants at the root with the appropriate types of fertilizers. Good results are obtained by foliar dressing with 1% boric acid solution after the appearance of the 4th true leaf and after another 2 weeks.
Sowing corn and cucumber together
It is noticed that these two cultures perfectly coexist. In addition, corn serves as a natural support for the cucumber liana and protects it from the winds.
Break the bed, making it a length from north to south. Plant corn kernels in the middle, in one row. On both sides - seeds or seedlings of cucumber. To prevent plant roots from interfering with each other, place them at a distance of 35 × 40 cm.
With this planting, the yield of cucumbers is higher than on ordinary ridges. They do not need to be tied up, since the vine with the help of antennae will be fixed on the tall stalks of corn.
Harvesting corn
The cobs are harvested when they turn brown and the top or about half of the fibers are dry. Usually, the crop is harvested in 2–3 doses. It is impossible to delay with this, since then the taste of the grains may deteriorate.
After harvesting, the grain should be processed immediately, since when stored at above-zero temperatures, it is suitable for only two days. It is canned, dried or frozen. The ears can be stored without removing the leaves at zero temperature for no more than 20 days.
Pests and diseases of corn
Major diseases of maize:
- dusty and blistering smut;
- helminthosporiosis.
The cause of the dusty smut
- Basidiomycete, it affects the ears and panicles of sweet corn, forming oval-cone-shaped nodules. The same basidiomycete fungus, but of a different variety, affects not only panicles and ears of corn, but also leaves, internodes, and stems. The fight against these diseases consists in the timely removal of affected plants on the testes, disinfection of seeds, and compliance with crop rotation.
With helminthosporiosis, the affected ears
much easier than healthy ones due to the fact that few grains are formed in them. To prevent helminthosporiosis, it is necessary to apply a sufficient amount of fertilizers, especially phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. It is necessary to disinfect seeds before planting, observe crop rotation, process the soil, disinfect it after harvest, use varieties that are resistant to this disease.
Among the pests of corn, one can distinguish:
- winter and cotton scoop;
- corn moth;
- cereal aphid;
- swedish fly;
- wireworm.
The methods of combating these pests are deep autumn digging of the soil, observance of crop rotation, cleaning of seeds before sowing.
Video about growing corn - tips for summer residents:
