On 6/8/2008 1:36 PM, J. Clarke wrote [in part]:
David E. Ross wrote:
On 6/7/2008 10:33 AM, markm75 wrote:
I've heard a few variations on this.. was curious if anyone had any
thoughts..

I've heard its ok to plant the white corn and the bicolor at the
same
time, as long as you aren't saving seeds.. i've also heard to not
do
it as they will cross pollinate and result in tough kernels.

Or.. i've heard that its ok, as long as you say, plant one one week
then wait a few weeks and plant the other variety...

Any thoughts on this? I dont have 100 feet to separate the
varieties
either.. more like only a few feet

Thanks
When cross-pollination occurs, the effect is seen in the plants
grown
from the resulting seeds. The seeds themselves (corn kernels in
this
case) reflect the plant on which they grow.

This is best illustrated by Japanese plums. To set fruit, Satsuma
plums require cross-pollination from a different variety of Japanese
plum. Often, Santa Rosa plums (which don't require
cross-pollination)
are used for cross-pollinating Satsuma plums. The resulting fruit
on
a Satsuma tree are clearly Satsuma plums. However, planting the
seeds from such plums will not produce a Satsuma tree.

However Satsuma trees are not hybrid corn.

However, they are indeed hybrid plums, different from their wild
ancestors. The effect is the same. The development of seeds and fruit
is dictated by the characteristics of the plant on which the seeds and
fruit develop, not on the genotype of the seed "germ" (the part that
forms a new plant when the seed sprouts).

So much pollen drifts through the air or is carried by insects from one
variety to another (e.g., from my neighbor's cherry tomatoes to my own
beefsteak tomatoes) that having named varieties of vegetables, fruits,
and grain would be meaningless if cross-pollination affected the
resulting crop. The results of cross-pollination is seen only in the
next generation of plants.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/