What are the precautions for growing fruit corn?

Fruit corn is a super-sweet corn suitable for eating raw. At the green ear stage, the skin is thin, the juice is abundant, the texture is crisp and sweet, and it can be eaten directly raw. The thin skin breaks with a single bite, and the fresh, fragrant juice fills the mouth. Whether eaten raw or cooked, it is especially sweet and crisp, just like fruit, so it is called “fruit corn”. Fruit corn has many varieties, all with very high nutritional value. Below, let us take a look at the precautions for growing fruit corn.

1. Prepare the soil finely, sow at the right time and in stages, and harvest and bring to market successively. To market earlier, it is recommended to use plastic film mulching or seedling transplanting techniques, sow earlier, and achieve 3 to 4 harvests in 1 year. In order to extend the harvest period and ensure market supply, in addition to scientifically matching early, mid-season and late-maturing varieties, the method of sowing in stages is usually adopted, sowing 1 batch every 5 days or 10 days. The planting area and sowing date should be reasonably determined according to market demand.

2. Plant at a reasonable density to improve population uniformity. Planting density has a relatively large impact on the yield and quality of sweet corn. The number of plants to grow should depend on the variety and demand. Generally, for harvesting fresh ears, leave 3500 to 4 000 plants per mu; for harvesting fresh ears, leave 5 00 to 6000 plants. For early-maturing types, leave 3500 to 4000 plants; for harvesting fresh shoots, leave 5500 to 6000 plants. Early-maturing varieties should be planted at higher density, and late-maturing varieties at slightly lower density; for the same variety, winter and spring sowing should be at slightly higher density than summer sowing. Sweet corn has a low emergence rate, weak seedling vigor and poor plant uniformity. Therefore, the actual sowing rate should be 1 times more than the suitable number of ears. At the 3 to 4 leaf stage, apply additional seedling fertilizer according to seedling condition to promote balanced growth. At the 5 to 6 leaf stage, thin the seedlings to the upper limit of the suitable density. At the same time, in view of the strong tillering ability of sweet corn, remove tillers promptly to promote strong seedlings.

3. Fertilize scientifically and increase phosphorus and potassium. Apply 1000 to 1500 kg of barnyard manure, 20 kg of superphosphate and 10 kg of potassium fertilizer per mu as base fertilizer. Apply 20 kg of urea per mu at the seedling stage, 10 to 15 kg of compound fertilizer at the jointing stage, and 10 to 12 kg of urea as ear fertilizer at the large trumpet stage. For those with poorer growth, in combination with intertillage and hilling, apply another 4 to 5 kg of urea at the silking stage. Topdressing should be done within 10 to 15 cm beside the plants, in opened holes and deeply applied, combined with intertillage and weeding. Increasing potassium fertilizer can improve the nutritional quality and sugar content of corn. It is advisable to apply 5 to 10 kg of pure potassium per mu.