Flower Sweet Waxy Corn: A Taste Feast of Sweetness and Glutinousness

Double Surprise on the Tip of the Tongue – The Unique Charm of Flower Sweet Waxy Corn

Flower sweet waxy corn is a high-quality corn variety with dual characteristics of “sweetness” and “glutinousness”, carefully cultivated by professional breeding teams. It breaks the single attribute of traditional corn that is either sweet or glutinous. The kernels present a dreamy appearance with interwoven purple, yellow, and white colors, like a rainbow scattered on the cob. Whether it’s the crystal plump look after steaming or the natural aroma emitted after boiling, it whets the appetite.

Pick up an ear of cooked flower sweet waxy corn and take a gentle bite. First, you feel the “bursting pulp” brought by the thin-skinned kernels, and the sweet juice bursts in the mouth instantly; then, the glutinous and chewy texture takes over the taste buds, sticky but not greasy, soft but not loose, with a perfect balance of sweetness and richness. It has neither the blandness of ordinary sweet corn nor the greasiness of traditional waxy corn, and every bite is a perfectly balanced deliciousness.

Core Advantages: More Than Just Delicious, Full of Value

• Nutritious and Healthy Choice: Rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc. The purple kernels contain anthocyanins, natural antioxidants, while the yellow kernels are rich in lutein, meeting the nutritional needs of the whole family, loved by both the elderly and children.
• Versatile Uses and Various Eating Methods: Can be directly steamed, boiled, or roasted, making it a quick staple food on the table; can also be shelled to make corn soup, salads, fried rice, or processed into corn juice and corn cakes. It can easily handle breakfast, snacks, or side dishes.
• Naturally Grown and Safe: Adopts non-GMO breeding technology with strong adaptability. No excessive pesticides are needed during planting, and it is picked and eaten immediately after ripening, locking in freshness and nutrition, allowing you to eat with peace of mind.
• Good Ornamental Value, a Highlight in the Courtyard: During growth, the green leaves paired with the colorful ears emerging from the top become a “natural decoration” in the courtyard or balcony, not only harvesting deliciousness but also decorating the space, achieving two goals at once.

Suitable Crowd: A Delicious Ingredient for the Whole Family

● Mom Group: High nutritional density, easy to chew and digest, as baby food or daily snacks, supplementing energy and health;
● Office Workers: Convenient to carry after steaming, it is a convenient and filling breakfast or lunch staple, saying goodbye to greasy takeaways;
● Fitness Enthusiasts: Low in fat and high in fiber, with strong satiety, helping control calorie intake, more suitable with fitness meals;
● Elderly Group: Soft and glutinous texture that doesn’t strain the teeth, easy to absorb nutrients, a high-quality coarse grain choice in daily diet.

Echtes Benutzer-Feedback

“I bought this colored corn for the first time. My child didn’t like eating coarse grains before, but after steaming, he ate half an ear in one go, saying it was especially fragrant with sweetness and glutinousness. Now I have to stock up every time I buy groceries!” — From mom user @Warm Heart Chef
“It’s perfect to use it as a staple food during fitness. Steam it for 15 minutes, and the satiety can last all afternoon, much more comfortable than eating boiled vegetables. Moreover, the color is beautiful, and it’s dignified to take photos and post on social media.” — From fitness user @Fitness Expert Akai

Scientific Planting Method of Flower Sweet Waxy Corn: From Seed to Harvest, Even Beginners Can Succeed

1. Pre-Planting Preparation: Choose the Right Seeds and Land, Lay a Good Foundation for Growth

1. Variety and Seed Selection

Priority should be given to purchasing high-quality flower sweet waxy corn seeds from regular channels, paying attention to checking the production date, purity, and germination rate on the seed packaging (it is recommended to choose seeds with a germination rate ≥95%). 2-3 days before sowing, dry the seeds for 4-6 hours to break seed dormancy and improve germination rate; then soak the seeds in warm water at about 50℃ for 15 minutes, then soak in room temperature water for 6-8 hours, take them out, wrap them with wet gauze, and place them in an environment of 25-30℃ for germination. Sowing can be done when more than 80% of the seeds show white buds.

2. Land Selection and Preparation

Flower sweet waxy corn likes light and fertilizer, and avoids continuous cropping (avoid continuous planting with gramineous crops such as corn and sorghum). Choose deep, loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam or loam soil, and the land should ensure at least 6 hours of light per day. 15-20 days before planting, plow the land to a depth of about 30 cm, and apply base fertilizer combined with plowing: apply 2000-3000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure and 50 kg of compound fertilizer (NPK ratio 15:15:15) per mu, mix the fertilizer with soil evenly, rake flat, and make ridges 1.2-1.5 meters wide with 30 cm wide furrows for drainage.

3. Isolated Planting to Avoid Cross-Pollination

Flower sweet waxy corn belongs to glutinous corn. If cross-pollinated with ordinary sweet corn or hard corn, the kernel texture will become poor and the sweet-glutinous attributes will degenerate. Therefore, isolation should be done during planting, either by spatial isolation (more than 300 meters away from other corn varieties) or time isolation (sowing time staggered with other corn varieties by 20-30 days to avoid overlapping flowering periods).

2. Sowing Skills: Grasp the Opportunity to Improve Seedling Emergence Rate

1. Sowing Time

Flower sweet waxy corn likes warmth, the suitable temperature for seed germination is 20-30℃, and the suitable temperature for seedling growth is 18-25℃. Spring sowing can be carried out when the local ground temperature stabilizes above 12℃ (generally mid-to-late April in the north, mid-to-late March in the south); summer sowing can be completed before mid-June to avoid low temperature affecting filling in the later stage; autumn sowing can be done in warm areas in the south, generally before early August, ensuring the temperature is above 15℃ during harvest.

2. Sowing Method

Adopt hole sowing method, dig holes on the ridge according to row spacing of 50-60 cm and plant spacing of 30-35 cm, each hole is 3-5 cm deep, pour enough bottom water, put 2-3 germinated seeds, cover with 2-3 cm of fine soil, and gently compact. If the soil is dry, mulch film can be covered after sowing to retain moisture and increase temperature, and the film should be broken in time to release seedlings after emergence to prevent high temperature from burning seedlings.

3. Rational Close Planting

Adjust the planting density according to variety characteristics and soil fertility, generally planting 3000-3500 plants per mu. Varieties with fertile soil and compact plant type can be properly densely planted, while varieties with poor soil and tall plant type need to be sparsely planted to ensure adequate ventilation and light in the field and reduce the occurrence of diseases and insect pests.

3. Field Management: Fine Maintenance to Promote Growth and Development

1. Thinning and Final Seedling Establishment

Thin seedlings when they have 3-4 true leaves, remove weak and diseased seedlings, keep 2 healthy seedlings per hole; establish final seedlings when they have 5-6 true leaves, keep only 1 strongest seedling per hole to ensure sufficient growth space for plants. After final seedling establishment, 5-8 kg of urea can be applied per mu combined with intertillage and soil loosening to promote seedling growth.

2. Water Management

Flower sweet waxy corn is drought-tolerant but not waterlogging-tolerant, and the soil should be kept moist but not waterlogged during growth. Seedlings need less water, and shallow watering is sufficient when the soil is dry; jointing stage (when plants grow to about 30 cm) and filling stage (when kernels start to expand) are critical periods for water demand, and sufficient water should be ensured. Furrow irrigation or drip irrigation can be used for watering, thoroughly wetting the soil but avoiding waterlogging in the field to prevent root rot. Clean furrows in time on rainy days to drain water.

3. Topdressing Management

Follow the principle of “light application of seedling fertilizer, heavy application of ear fertilizer”:
● Seedling Fertilizer: Apply 10 kg of urea + 5 kg of potassium chloride per mu after final seedling establishment, apply combined with intertillage and hilling to promote root development and stem-leaf growth;
● Jointing Fertilizer: When plants have 6-8 leaves, apply 20 kg of compound fertilizer + 5 kg of urea per mu, open a furrow 10 cm away from the plant root to apply, avoiding root burning;
● Ear Fertilizer: 7-10 days before tassel emergence (large trumpet stage), apply 30 kg of compound fertilizer + 10 kg of potassium sulfate per mu. This is the peak period of nutrient demand, and sufficient fertilizer can promote ear development and improve yield and quality.

4. Pruning and Branching

Flower sweet waxy corn is prone to tillering (branches) during growth, which consume a lot of nutrients and affect the development of main stem ears. Therefore, timely pruning and branching are needed. When tillers grow to about 10 cm, break them off from the base by hand, generally 2-3 times until no new tillers grow. If plants grow too vigorously, old leaves at the lower part can be properly removed after tassel emergence to increase ventilation and light in the field.

5. Artificial Supplementary Pollination

To improve ear setting rate and reduce baldness, artificial supplementary pollination can be carried out. On sunny mornings from 9 to 11 o’clock, when tassel pollen activity is the strongest, dip tassel pollen with a brush or cotton swab and gently apply it to ear silks; alternatively, gently shake tassels of adjacent plants to make pollen fall on ears. Pollination work should be carried out continuously for 2-3 days for better results.

4. Pest and Disease Control: Green Prevention and Control to Ensure Quality

1. Common Diseases and Control

● Northern Corn Leaf Blight and Southern Corn Leaf Blight: Brown spots appear on leaves in the early stage, expanding into patches in the later stage. Control methods: Choose disease-resistant varieties, rational close planting, avoid waterlogging in the field; spray 50% carbendazim wettable powder 500 times solution in the early stage of disease, once every 7-10 days, continuously spray 2-3 times.
● Rust: Yellow rust spore piles appear on leaves, causing leaf drying in severe cases. Control methods: Strengthen field ventilation, reduce humidity; spray 25% triadimefon wettable powder 1500 times solution in the early stage of disease, once every 10 days, continuously spray 2 times.

2. Common Insect Pests and Control

● Corn Borer: Larvae bore into stems and ears, causing plant lodging and kernel damage. Control methods: Adopt biological control, release trichogramma in the field; or put 3% phoxim granules into the trumpet mouth at the large trumpet stage, 0.5 grams per plant.
● Aphids: Gather on the back of leaves to suck sap, causing leaf curling and growth retardation. Control methods: Rinse leaves with soapy water or clean water; spray 10% imidacloprid wettable powder 2000 times solution in the early stage of infestation, safe and environmentally friendly.

3. Green Prevention and Control Principles

Priority should be given to agricultural control, physical control, and biological control to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. If chemical pesticides are needed, choose low-toxic and low-residue pesticides, strictly abide by the safe interval of pesticide use (stop using pesticides more than 15 days before harvest) to ensure the safety of corn consumption.

5. Harvest and Storage: Grasp the Opportunity to Lock in Freshness

1. Harvest Time

The harvest time of flower sweet waxy corn has a great impact on taste, and the best harvest time is generally 20-25 days after pollination. At this time, the color of ear bracts changes from green to yellow, the kernels are plump and shiny, and when the kernels are pinched with fingers, milky white or pale yellow sticky pulp flows out, with moderate sweetness and glutinousness. If harvested too early, the kernels are not plump and lack sweetness; if harvested too late, the kernels become hard and the taste deteriorates.

2. Harvest Method

Adopt manual harvesting, cut 5-10 cm below the ear with a sickle to avoid damaging the ear. After harvest, peel off the outer old bracts in time, keep 2-3 layers of tender bracts, which can protect the kernels and keep them fresh.

3. Storage Skills

Fresh flower sweet waxy corn is not resistant to storage and should be eaten as soon as possible after harvest. If short-term storage is needed, it can be put in the refrigerator for refrigeration at 0-4℃ for no more than 3 days; if long-term storage is needed, the corn can be shelled, put in a fresh-keeping bag, sealed and frozen in the refrigerator, or processed into corn grits and corn flour for storage to extend the eating period.