...tales of a Nigerian Farmer
Dayo Anjorin


I started planting Sweet corn as a desire to have varieties of crop on my farm and I supermarkets are always in need of the crop. So, I got the seed and planted it for the first time.

My First Experience
The first time I planted Sweet Corn , I did not get good buys. The other farmers that have been doing it, said I ought to have gotten the market before planting it. So, I had to restrategize and making sure i had off takers before planting.

My Discoveries
I discovered that, Sweet corn is not a kind of crop, that you plant on a large scale because most people that buy , buy in bits and want a continuous supply .Therefore, you cannot afford to cultivate in large quantity.

My Second Experience
So, I started cultivating them in batches and immensely helped me. I do like two plots, and in a week interval, I cultivate another two plots. This keeps the supply continuous. But, that is not a guarantee that your produce will be sold in the market ,because, ,at the point you are planting, many farmers are putting their seeds in the ground. This automatically leads to glut.

Sweet corn matures between 68 - 70 days. When it is is approaching day 75, it is getting over mature and difficult to sell. This happened to me last year. There , I said to myself, I cannot afford to lose these crops.

Turning Lemons to Lemonade
So, I took some of the produce to my farm outlet. At first, consumers said it was too sweet, but they later completely embraced it. Even other farmers, brought their produce for me to sell for them. In comparison, selling this way was below the proceeds from selling to the mall , it was a better alternative than experiencing a complete loss.Imagine having 500kg of corn and you have no buyer for them.

Take home Lessons
When venturing into any crop, be prepared for unforeseen challenges and a mindset to combat and overcome them.

Profitability and Management:
Sweet Corn is from the grass family ,so it just requires little water .Secondly, it is subject to lots of diseases except fungi, or caterpillar worms - which can be easily combated. In all, it requires little maintenance.

planted corn (field) twice this year, how much difference are there between them, in terms of management

From my experience.

Managing sweet corn can be demanding compared to the usual corn. This is because, due to the sweetness of the sweet corn, caterpillars (known to be stem borers) like harboring in the stem of the crop , and this destroys their stands.

To mitigate this , I regularly spray the stems with Caterpillar insecticide, such as caterpillar force and the likes.

On fertilizer application,
Mode of application is the same with the regular corn.

Profitability
3 cobs of Sweet Corn can be sold for #350 - the regular maize hardly gives me this.

In addition, the profit I get from 2 plots of Sweet Corn is equivalent to 1 acre of the regular maize.

i.e profit of:
2 plots of sweet corn = 6 plots of Maize.

Labour
You require less labour adjudging from the above sentence.

Value
The Sweet Corn is an exotic produce compared to the local corn . Also, You can make projections because the price/kg of Sweet corn is stable.

Hi guys which brand of seed and variety did you plant . I am trying to decide between premiere seeds and seedco

osomagroservice:

I really love the way you guys shared your experiences. Honestly, I am entirely new to gardening and planting crops. Actually, I started my home garden last year and successfully grew herbs, but now, I want to grow corn. So, first of all, I want to know your thoughts on simple corn and sweet corn. Basically, what are the differences we need to see a farmer?



Similarly, is it possible to harvest sweet corn in small containers or areas of the backyard garden? I found a beneficial step-by-step guide here https://progardeningblog.com/how-to-grow-sweet-corn/ to harvest sweet corn, but several of my questions are still unanswered. Likewise, how much time does a sweet corn crop takes to grow in an area like Abuja? Is it 60 to 95 days?

What insecticides and fertilizers will you suggest for smooth growth?

I need your suggestions.