Features of growing corn

Corn is grown for more than just nutritious and healthy fruits. The majestic plant, reaching a height of three meters, is a real decoration of the personal plot. The main thing is to know and follow the rules of agricultural technology.

Choosing a landing site

When choosing a site for growing corn, preference should be given to sunny places protected from the winds. The soils should be light, moderately moist. They are preliminarily enriched with mineral, organic fertilizers. Before planting the corn on heavy, clogged soil, it is dug up, fluffed up and drained. The place for the culture must be changed every 3 years. The predecessors of corn can be potatoes, cabbage, legumes, tomatoes. She gets along well with zucchini and pumpkin.

Do not sow corn immediately after millet. This contributes to the spread of a common pest for plants - the corn moth.

Preparing grains for sowing

The selection of seed requires special attention. The yield will largely depend on this. For sowing, take large grains, which do not have the slightest damage. Then they are tested for germination by placing them in a 5% salt solution for 5 minutes. Only grains that have settled to the bottom are suitable for planting.

The next step is seed dressing to protect against disease. For 7 minutes, the grains are placed in a special solution. It can be a powder pesticide, hydrogen peroxide. Most gardeners use a weak solution of potassium permanganate for pickling. The grain can be disinfected by hydrothermal treatment - it is alternately lowered into hot (up to 50⁰C) water, then into cold water. The whole process takes 20 minutes.

Soil preparation

Since the fall, they begin to prepare a place for planting corn. The soil is dug to a depth of 30 cm, at the same time introducing manure, compost or peat at the rate of 8 kg per 1 m².

Organic corn fertilizer promotes corn development by assisting in the absorption of nutrients from the soil. To increase the resistance of plants against drought, micronutrient fertilizers containing zinc and molybdenum are added. In the spring, before sowing seeds, the soil is treated with herbicides that destroy weeds. Then they dig it up, enriching it with complex fertilizers that stimulate growth. Potash fertilizers (20 g per 1 m²) and nitrogen fertilizers (25 g per 1 m²) are applied. Acidic soils are limed, using 3 kg of lime for every 10 m².

Sowing technology

The seeds are planted in prepared, herbicide-treated and fertilized soil. The timing of planting depends on the region. In the Moscow region, corn planting can be done starting from May 25. The soil should warm up to 10 ° C and above. Corn is a thermophilic plant and tolerates any temperature fluctuations very painfully.

On the bed, markings are made, indicating the places of future holes, the interval between which should be at least 70 cm. The depth of each is 9 cm. In this case, the developed root system will not interfere with neighboring plants. Seeds are placed at a distance of 30 cm from each other.

Corn is planted in several beds nearby. This allows for more efficient cross-pollination.

A nest planting method is also used. Seeds of 4 pieces are placed in a separate hole, the depth of which is about 12 cm.Up to 400 g of organic matter is poured into the bottom. After planting the seeds on top, they are mulched with peat. The seeding rate of maize is different depending on the variety, sowing method, seed size. On average, one hectare requires up to 20 kg of grains.

Growing seedlings

In the northern regions, where spring comes too late, it is practiced to grow corn with seedlings. Sowing seeds is carried out at room conditions in mid-April. One or two grains are planted in peat cups filled with substrate to a depth of 3 cm. A layer of sand 1 cm thick is poured on top.About 20 days after planting the seeds, the seedlings can be transplanted into open ground. In this case, one should be guided by the temperature regime. The transfer is carried out only when stable warm weather is established. To protect from cold weather, each plant can be covered with a neck cut from a plastic bottle, which provides a greenhouse effect.

Care features

Corn grows rapidly after the first knot appears on the plant. By the beginning of flowering, the growth is up to 12 cm per day. Then the rapid growth stops, and all the forces are given to the formation of cobs. In general, planting and maintenance of corn outdoors is carried out in the same way as for most other garden crops. To care for crops requires:

1. Watering. Despite the fact that the plant is highly resistant to drought, a good harvest of juicy fruits can be obtained only by providing it with moisture. Abundant watering is required during the 9-leaf phase, the next during flowering, then during grain pouring.
2. Loosening. In order for the plant to have additional roots, the soil between the rows should be loosened after each watering or rain. The first time this is done before the emergence of shoots. In this case, loosening is carried out to a depth of no more than 4 cm, so as not to damage the germinated seeds.
3. Top dressing. Growing corn in the country is impossible without timely feeding. The first is carried out with a concentrated solution of Lignohumate. It is diluted at the rate of 2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water. One liter of solution is applied to one plant. When the first panicles appear, the next feeding is carried out. A solution is prepared for it - 15 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of potassium, 40 g of superphosphate are diluted in 10 liters of water. During the ripening of the ears, fertilizing is carried out using a liquid fertilizer - Agricola-Vegeta solution.

The corn cultivation technology has its own characteristics. Tall stems growing in a windy area need a garter. In addition, it is necessary to remove the developing stepsons, leaving no more than three ears on one stem.

Knowing all the intricacies of how to grow corn in a summer cottage, by making every effort and showing care, you can get an excellent harvest of sweet, juicy, unusually tasty fruits.

Growing early sweet corn on the site - video

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