"Robert Davies" wrote in message
...
I'd appreciate some advice on why my sweetcorn have done so badly this
year. The cobs are about half size with kernels fully developed on the
lower half only. The tassels went black around the beginning of the
month and they don't seem to have been developing any further since
then.

Is this down to poor pollination? I don't see why this should be, as I
have about 40 plants, planted in a block with roughly 8 inch spacing
between plants.

Or could it be lack of water? I haven't bothered watering them much as
I've been too busy watering everything else in the garden and assumed
that sweetcorn wouldn't mind dry conditions. After all there are
fields all around full of healthy looking plants and I don't think
they get any irrigation. What are the farmers doing right that I'm
doing wrong?

Robert

Well for one thing the farmers aren't growing "sweetcorn" they are growing
maize, and they are growing it as a feed crop, thus all they care about is
that it puts out a higher yield of green stuff per square food than wheat or
corn. They are not interested in the cobs at all as far as I know.

I would have thought 8" seperations is not nearly enough, and may be causing
the plants to struggle mine are normally spaced 12-18" apart, and they do
get generous amounts of water round the roots at least once per week, having
said that the first one I harvested this year was still very well set just
the cobs were all dried out, far too much hot weather and not nearly enough
water I reckon.

Duncan