Hawaiian Corn - Supersweet #9

Corn is a member of the huge grass family, a sister of sugarcane and sorghum. It was named Zea mays by the botanist Carl von Linne (a.k.a. Linnaeus)—the “mays” coming from the Native American name “mais”. In the United States we call the crop “corn,” but internationally it is commonly known as “maize.” Unlike rice, sugarcane, sorghum, and wheat, maize is a truly American crop. Yet, it shares at least 98 percent of the genes of those related grasses, which did not evolve in the Americas. All early American civilizations were built on maize as the primary energy food.

Dr. Brewbaker created a backyard variety of sweet corn for Hawaiian growers, here is one of his articles on the topic: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/HGV-4.pdf

This yellow super sweet has become an open pollinated "heirloom" favorite of growers around the world. In Hawaii it was selected for it's resistance to tropical diseases and the cob destroying grubs as well as its productivity.

Seedlings should emerge within a week andbe knee-high in a month.

Plant two to three seeds per hill spaced l foot apart in rows spaced 2 feet apart. Be sure to thin the plants four weeks after planting to leave one vigorous plant per hill. A compact square or circular planting design in the home garden ensures better pollination than does a single, long row. The best recommendation is to plant a minimum of four rows about 8 feet long rather than one or two long rows.

Hawaii’s supersweets are delicious uncooked.

The seeds are available from the University of Hawaii Seed Lab: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/seed/seeds.asp

References:

Serious growers are referred to the CTAHR publication Corn Production in the Tropics—The Hawai‘i Experience. (www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/corn03.pdf; or www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/forsale/cornflier.pdf).
Sweet Corn. James L. Brewbaker, Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/HGV-4.pdf
Sweet corn--UH Farmer's Bookshelf http://buff.ly/2jcwIxe
Six Tropical Supersweet Corn Inbreds http://buff.ly/2ipkPXH
Mānoa: Plant breeder Brewbaker makes $1 million gift to support future work | University of Hawaii News http://buff.ly/2jlpObg
Brewbaker's $1M Endowment Fellowship Fuels Plant Breeding Research at CTAHR | UH Foundation http://buff.ly/2jlibBq