If the seed you saved was from a hybrid variety it won't come true and be the same. Only open polinated corn will come true. It may not even be fit to eat. To wait 70 to 90 days to find out would be a bad choice.

Depends on how stabilized the hybrid you planted was - all corn is hybrid. It may or may not breed true.

Also cross-pollination is fairly easy if you planted more than one variety or if other varieties were planted nearby. If it was stored correctly it sure won't hurt to give it a try if you have the room. ;) But if you want guaranteed results on the variety it's best to start with fresh seed.

Dave

All corn is not hybrid. There a few varieties left that are open polinated and even some feild corn as well.

If your corn is open polinated use only the seeds from the middle of the ear. Not the ends.

paulc_gardener whats wrong with the corn kernels from the end of the ears?

I'm sorry Paul but all corn - maize - is hybrid - it just depends on how well/long the variety has been stabilized as to whether it will be labeled OP or not. This is true for even the rare so-called "indian" or South American varieties. They are hybrids that have all been stabilized over the years to breed true.

Corn wouldn't exist without hybridization by man. As discussed in another recent thread here, corn began as a grass called teosinte and was first hybridized by Mayan cultures B.C. All current varieties of corn, as we know it, result from further hybridizing - natural or intentional - but it important to note that we are talking hybridizing by cross-pollination and NOT genetic engineering here. That distinction confuses some.

There are numerous histories of corn on the web that detail it's development through the ages from a grass with a few kernels of seed to what we grow today.

Dave

As to the kernels from the end of the ears - they tend to be less mature so the seed embryo is not as well developed and theoretically at least are more likely to have been exposed to cross pollination.

Thx for the answers. I thought that was too easy. Guess I was right. Thx

Daryljurassic, what was the variety's name? Most corn, especially sweet corn, on the market is hybrid. But by most commonly accepted use of the term there are some kinds which are not hybrid, they are considered to be open pollinated. I grow some myself, and it is not hard to save seed and replant.

"Hybrid" normally refers to seed derived from a first generation cross between two INBRED lines. In the case of corn, those lines can be so inbred as to be really kind of sickly, due to inbreeding depression. But when they are then crossed... bang! You get a LOT of vigor and usually higher production. Also, those two lines may be quite different in characteristics such as plant and ear size and even days to maturity. But the first generation cross will be uniform, not a mix, in how the genes are expressed. It is only in the second generation that a lot of variation will show up.

If that corn was sweet corn and you don't know the variety, then I'd recommend that you purchase your seed for this year. But if it was, a kind of non sweet, or if it was a named variety which we can look up, and it turns out not to be hybrid, then you might try planting some for a harvest.

Regarding seed on the ends of the ears, it is often not as large or well formed as in the middle. I've planted both and done okay. But many friends of mine, who are REALLY into corn, swear by using just the inside kernels.

Below is a link to another discussion on corn. It contains some good info on saving seed. Hope this helps.

George
Tahlequah, OK

Here is a link that might be useful: Corn for meal and grits

Using just the center of the ear for your seed goes way back to the days farmers planted their own seed. They would go to the crib and select the largest fully developed ears and shell out the middle by hand. This was done so the kernals would fit the seed corn plates in their planter. Even in their hand planters.

Thank for that info Paul. I've always wondered about this. But I have indigenous friends, out in the hills of Mexico, who plant and harvest by hand. They are my main sources for this idea. Why? I don't know.

Anyway, your comment seems to fit. Perhaps my friends picked up their ideas from someone who had mechanization.

George

Check out the section on saving corn seed in Susan Ashworth's book Seed to Seed. Tom