How to Grow Sweet Corn: Growing Guide to Planting, Care & Harvest

Zea mays var. saccharata

Growing calendar

Typical timing for central Japan (Kanto region). Shift it for your own climate, and record your actual dates.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Sow / plantGrowingHarvest

Guides

Common problems

Start from what you can see on the plant.

Wilting Yellow leaves Leaves dying Leaf spots Pests Fruit problems

Varieties (241)

241 sweet corn varieties have their own page, with days to maturity, growth habit, traits and uses. Listed by country: United States 240, United Kingdom 1.

Abenaki Calais Bodacious Chippewa Earlivee Grant Indian Ornamental Legend Navajo Rainbow Inca Seneca Tomahawk Strawberry Triple Play

See all 241 sweet corn varieties

Pests and diseases (49)

Problems recorded for this plant, most serious first.

Asian Corn Borer

MajorPest

Entry holes and powdery frass appear on the tassel and stalk, and the stalk may snap. Larvae bore down from the tip of the ear and the kernels are eaten and rot.

Helicoverpa Bollworms

CommonPest

Round holes are bored into fruit and buds, the inside eaten out and packed with frass. Rot spreads from the entry hole, leading to fruit and bud drop.

Brown Leaf Spot Rust Southern Blight Anthracnose Damping-off Root-lesion Nematode Root Rot Root-knot Nematode Bacterial Spot Leaf Spot Downy MildewRice BlastSouthern Corn Leaf BlightBlack-streaked DwarfNorthern Corn Leaf BlightZonate Leaf SpotCyst NematodePythium Damping-offFusarium Stem RotMosaic DiseaseBacterial Lodging DiseaseNorthern Leaf SpotSouthern RustLeaf StreakBacterial Leaf StreakRoot DecaySmudge SpotGray Sclerotial RotScorch DiseaseHead SmutSheath BlightRice StripeStem Snap BlightMagnesium DeficiencyBacterial Stem BlightStem RotBacterial WiltLeaf BlightBacterial Leaf BlightBrown Stripe Downy MildewBrown StripeBrown RotFusarium Head BlightBlue MoldYellowsYellow DwarfSmut

Written byYasuGrowing vegetables and fruit in Chiba, Japan, and building Gadenin. Corrections are welcome. 15 years of growing.