Here's a
quiz to test your knowledge about Corn In
Ontario.
1. An acre of forest is more beneficial to the
environment than an acre of corn.
FALSE - An acre of corn is as
beneficial to the environment as an acre of
forest trees. Both have large leaf areas that
absorb lots of carbon dioxide and release oxygen
during the entire summer period. The plant
residue left after grain corn harvest is returned
to the soil as organic matter.
2. Grain corn can be
harvested approximately 60 days after planting.
FALSE - This is true of sweet
corn. However, grain corn is left standing in the
field to fully mature and dry. Grain corn is
usually harvested in October or November.
3. The corn plant
has both male and female parts.
TRUE - The silk is the female
part while the tassel is the male part.
4. Corn is part of
the grass family.
TRUE - Theory has it that kernels
of corn once had individual floral parts like
oats, and cobs that broke apart easily - unlike
the ears and husks which we know as corn today.
5. Grain corn
by-products can be found in over 2,000 items.
TRUE - In a typical 10,000 item
grocery store, corn can be found in at least
2,500 products.
6. Sweet corn and
grain corn are the same.
FALSE - Sweet corn has a higher
sugar and water content and its use is for
corn-on-the-cob, frozen and niblet corn. Grain
corn has many uses for both edible and non-edible
products.
7. Acreage for sweet
corn exceeds acreage for grain corn in Ontario.
FALSE - Sweet corn accounts for
about 5% of the total corn acreage grown in
Ontario.
8. Popcorn is grown
only in the central part of the United States.
FALSE - Popcorn is grown in
Ontario - moreso in the southern part of the
province.
9. Typically, you
can get six ears of corn or more per stalk of
corn.
FALSE - In ideal growing
conditions you may get two fully matured ears of
corn. Normally one fully matured ear is harvested
and a second ear can be seen, but is not well
developed.
10. Corn develops
from a small seed to a plant that is typically
2-3.5 m (6.5-11.5 ft) tall.
TRUE
11. The word
"corn" can refer to maize, wheat, oats
and grain sorghum.
TRUE - However, in Canada and the
United States, "corn" usually means
maize. The scientific name is Zea mays. Other
names are "mais" (French) and
"maiz" (Spanish).
12. Each kernel of
corn, when planted, will produce 300-1,000 or
more, kernels.
TRUE - An ear of corn when
matured will normally have 10-18 rows of kernels
with up to 50 kernels per row. Good growing
conditions in Ontario will mean ears with 600-800
kernels of corn.
How well did you do?
6-7 right? A good start!
8-9 right? A B-plus in "cornology."
10-11 right? FARMER STATUS: Outstanding in your
field!
12 right? Truly a-MAIZE-ing!
All credit and
thanks for this Quiz goes to the Ontario Corn
Producers Association.
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