Abstract
Indiana sweet corn acreage harvested for fresh market averaged 5,233 acres annually from 2011- 2013, with a yield of 63 hundreweight per acre (149 crates or 3.1 tons per acre) and an annual value of $13.9 million (USDA NASS, 2014). Sweet corn fields for fresh market sales are located throughout the state. In northern Indiana, bicolor corn is most commonly grown.
Varieties with improved eating quality are of interest to both producers and consumers. The term ‘supersweet’ commonly refers to sweet corn with two copies of the shrunken-2 (sh2) gene that have high levels of sugar in the kernels and little conversion of sugar to starch. ‘Augmented’ or improved supersweet varieties have been bred for better eating quality, including reduced pericarp toughness. Producers are also interested in yield, ear size, appearance, and agronomic characteristics.
This paper reports on 23 bicolor, three yellow, and three white supersweet sweet corn entries that were evaluated at the Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center in Wanatah, Indiana.
Keywords
variety trials, sweetcorn, sweet corn, vegetables, Zea mays
Date of this Version
2015
Comments
Originally published in Midwest Vegetable Trial Report for 2014. Compiled by E. T. Maynard, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, Indiana. January 2015.