Planting
Corn seeds can be planted directly into 4-4.5″ pots in corn mix.
B73 for use in pollination should be planted in batches (compared to corn to be pollinated: one week before, week of, and week after).
Transplanting
Corn should be transplanted into 11″ 1200 cc pots at 2-3 weeks old (a foot or taller).
Pollination & Crossing
Facility staff bag ear shoots when watering. Upon request, we may also bag tassels if needed. Bagging tassels allows for the collection of pollen. Crossing should be performed by lab-specific protocols, but should be performed using freshly shed pollen applied to receptive silks.
Always wear eye protection when working with corn. When working with tassels specifically, you may have to look up towards the lights. If you do, please wear eyewear designed to protect you from the intense visible light emitted. Grow glasses are available in the headhouse. If you wear prescription glasses or cannot wear grow glasses for any reason, please let Facility Staff know and we’ll temporarily turn the lights off while you work.
Harvesting
Two to three weeks after pollination, if silks are brown, remove brown pollination bag and clip to the bottom of the ear. This is to help prevent fungus. Wear safety glasses when working with corn.
Corn Growing Medium
Facility Staff operate the soil mixer. Users are not to operate this mixer.
3:1 ratio of a 35% bark mix (Berger BM7) to Turface (Turface MVP Regular). Use the mixer in room 111; do not overmix.
Calmag+Fe Fertilizer
This monocot-specific custom blend is made using Jack’s 15-5-15 Ca-Mg with 4% Calcium and 2% Magnesium and Sprint 330 Iron DTPA 10%. The Ca-Mg fertilizer is mixed as a concentrate, 1020g/1.25 gal. This is injected at a rate of 0.8% to produce the final concentration. To each 50 gallons of diluted Ca-Mg, 70 g of Sprint 330 powder is added.
Fertilizing
- During gemination, tap water is used.
- Seedlings are given Calmag+Fe once true leaves appear.
- Transplanted plants are watered in with tap first, then calmag+Fe is applied at the next watering.
- As plants grow, fertilizer and hydration levels are adjusted based on plant growth stage, growth conditions, and observable nutrient status.
- This balance is achieved using Calmag+Fe, our balanced 15-16-17 house fertilizer, and tap water.
- This balance allows plants to grow rapidly without developing Rapid Growth Syndrome (RGS).
- Greenhouse staff record fertilizer applications in a daily log, which can be made available upon request.
- Once plants begin to tassel and growth slows, we switch to tap water and house fertilizer.
- As plants begin to senesce and develop their ears, all hydration is from tap water.
Autoclaving
- B73 and W22 are wild types, and do not need to be autoclaved except for non-self pollinated ears.
- All other mutants must be fully autoclaved (all plant parts, pots, swept debris from greenhouse).
- Use cycle 1 or another spore-test-validated cycle to sterilize corn and pots.