Baby Corn

Corn or maize is highly versatile crop with high-yield and fast-growth. These characteristics make it suitable for wider use and production in the developing world. Developing countries considered maize as grain for the poor and greens for the animal. However, nowadays tender and immature cobs of corn are being used as vegetable (proposed by Galinat, 1985). This novel use, known as baby corn (candle corn in Thai cook books), is becoming popular in domestic and foreign markets and has enormous processing and export potential.  Domestic market for baby corn is growing due to the increase in number of farmers producing it. Its cultivation is popular in urban and peri-urban areas due to high market demand.  Earlier, baby corn was a delicacy and its recipes were available only in star hotels and big restaurants. Now, it is becoming popular even among masses due to the revolution in information technology, increase in baby corn production and hence easy availability in the market. Thanks to the advent of one step shopping malls, where everything is available under one broad umbrella, which has also played its part in increasing the popularity of novel products including baby corn.

Characteristics, Nutritional Value and Uses of Baby Corn

Baby corn is tiny, immature and unfertilized ears of corn from normal sized corn plants. Many people presume that it comes from dwarf corn plant.  The miniature size is due to its early harvest at very immature stage (when silks are about to emerge or just emerged) and is not produced on dwarf corn plant. Fresh baby corn is tender and miniature in size with crisp texture and slight sweet corn flavour. Baby corn is no longer a specialty food as it is locally produced and easily available in the market. Its miniature size taste, flavor and colour are appealing to consumers. It is delicious to eat raw or cooked.

Nutritional value: Half a cup (serving size) of boiled baby corn contains 18 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1.7 g protein, 3.6 g carbohydrates and 1.2 g dietary fibre. Besides, it also has vitamin A (276 retinol equivalents), vitamin C (16 mg), potassium (483 mg), sodium (158 mg), magnesium (76 mg), calcium (51 mg) and iron (2 mg).

Uses of baby Corn: The entire miniature ear of baby corn is edible. Baby corn can be eaten raw or cooked. Baby corn can be used in salads as baby corn cubes, roundels, slices and chops. It can be served raw with other vegetables or added to pasta salad or tossed salad. Most people like to steam baby corn for 5 minutes or until tender before using in other dishes. Steamed baby corn could be used as a side dish topped with a bit of olive oil or butter and a pinch of salt. It can also be used in fry dish, soups, spaghetti sauce, Manchurian etc. Use of baby corn gives a special, gourmet touch to dishes and salads. It can also be used after boiling and blanching. Besides, canned baby corn is also available.  However, fresh baby corn obtained from field is crispier and more nutritious than the canned ones.

Baby Corn: Primary or Secondary Crop

Baby corn could be grown  in two different ways:

i) baby corn as primary crop- variety is planted to produce only baby corn; and

ii)  baby corn as secondary crop- a sweet corn or field corn variety is planted primarily to produce either sweet corn or field corn (Galinat, 1985). The choice of the variety, planting density and fertilizer rates are different in these two methods. Economic yield may be separated into three components: husk yield, young ear yield (baby corn), and standard ear yield.

Some researchers suggested that hybrid corn is more suitable for future baby corn due to their better quality   uniform size ears. Since research related to improvement of yield and quality of baby corn is limited, an important strategy for improvement is the use of heterosis from diverse breeding sources to make baby corn hybrids. The important attributes relevant to baby corn are early maturity, prolificacy (ability to produce multiple ears), synchronized ear emergence and yellow kernels (Kumar and Kallo, 1998). Four hybrids of maize, viz., Ganga -11, FH-3104, CHH -72 and HKH -1075 are suitable for baby corn due to their high cob yield and average stability (Sharma and Saikia, 2000). The hybrids developed at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (PEHM-2, 3, 5) have potential utility as baby corn cultivars. The preliminary efforts have been made in assessing their performance for baby corn production under higher plant density. Now varieties specially bred for baby corn purpose are available in both public and private sectors.

Choosing a Variety

Initially, normal field corn varieties were grown for this purpose. However, it requires varieties to produce more ears per plant. But such varieties are limited in number. Many sweet corn varieties are also suitable for baby corn production.  When baby corn is grown as a secondary crop, the variety must fit the purpose of the primary crop, whether it is for sweet or field corn. A variety should also have good baby corn ear characteristics. Ear quality, not quantity is the primary criterion. Baby corn ears should be 2–4 inches long and 1/3–2/3 inch in diameter at the base (Chutkaew and Paroda 1994).

Cultivation Practices

Baby corn production requires the cultivation practices recommended for normal corn production. But the crop duration is only about 60 days while it is 110-120 days for the grain crop. Among the other cultural practices, one of the important practices is detasseling

Detasseling: The pollinated tender ears (baby corn) would lose quality and hence it is important to prevent pollination. Thus, removal of tassels (detasseling) is an essential operation for baby corn production to ensure better quality. Detasseling has to be done as and when tassels start emerging (usually around 40-45 days). The detasseling operation should be done on a daily basis till tassels from all the plants are removed.

Maturity indices and harvest: Baby corn is generally hand harvested just at silk emergence stage (around 50-60 days after sowing). Ears are ideal for baby corn if they are bite size: 8-10 cm long and 1-1.5 cm in diameter at the base and weigh 7-8 g. To meet these criteria, harvest ears 1 to 3 days after silks become just visible (Bar-Zur and Saadi 1990). For baby corn purpose, harvest ears every alternate day (or 2-3 days depending upon the variety). Otherwise ovule size gets increased and ear will be large, pithy, woody and of poor quality in just 4–5 days. Some field corn varieties may have to be harvested before silking. To determine the appropriate time to harvest in a particular area, few ears should be harvested each day starting from the day of ear emergence on the stalk. When baby corn is grown as a primary crop: All the ears are harvested and the harvesting continues over a period of 3–4 weeks (9-12 times) from a single planting (Miles and Shaffner 1999). The closer plant to plant spacing (high density planting) results in more high-quality primary ears per hectare. Most varieties will produce 2–3 ears per plant; however, quality of the third ear may not be fully satisfactory. Expected yield is 10t ha^-1 of unhusked baby corn ears and 1.2t ha^-1 of husked baby corn (Miles and Shaffner 1999). When baby corn is grown as a secondary crop, second ear from the top of the plant is harvested for baby corn and top ear is allowed to mature to produce either sweet corn or field corn depending upon the variety planted.

Post-harvest Management

Though baby corn has husks to protect the young ear, freshness can only be maintained for a limited period. Limited information is available on maintaining quality for export in the fresh form or for processing in canneries. Therefore, research need to be intensified to generate information on this aspect.

Storage and processing: Refrigerating immediately will help retain sweetness. Unhusked baby corn is better for refrigeration, which would store it for up to one week without losing its quality.  If baby corn has to be freeze stored,  place husked ears in boiling water or steam for 30-45 seconds, cool then freeze or keep in freeze bags or zip lock bags and place them in the fridge diction of the refrigerator. However, it is best used fresh. The cooked baby corn could be stored by placing a cling film on the container having cooked baby corn. However, it has to be used within a day. Product quality is important in the cannery and the export industry. Rigorous quality control is needed to meet international standards. More efforts in this field would help promote the baby corn cultivation and industry. The international quality standards for baby corn are given below.

Prescribed Quality Standards

Extra Class: The cobs of baby corn in this class must be well trimmed, free of husk, stalk and silk, intact and of superior quality. They must be characteristic of the variety and/or commercial type. They must be free of defects, with the exception of very slight superficial defects, provided these do not affect the general appearance of the produce, the quality, the keeping quality and presentation in the package.

Class I: The cobs of baby corn in this class must be well trimmed, free of husk and stalk and of good quality. They must be characteristic of the variety and/or commercial type. The following slight defects, however, may be allowed, provided these do not affect the general appearance of the produce, the quality, the keeping quality and presentation in the package (FAO/WHO Codex Standard, 2005).

Class II: This includes cobs of baby corn which do not qualify for inclusion in the higher classes, but satisfy the minimum requirements. The following defects, however, may be allowed, provided the cobs of baby corn retain their essential characteristics as regards the quality, the keeping quality and presentation:

Presentation: defects in shape, colour and texture; defects in arrangement of undeveloped kernels (ovules); defects on the surface due to bruising, scratches or other mechanical damage. The total area affected shall not exceed 10% per cob; silk attached to and/or broken from the cob shall be minimal without affecting the appearance.

Grade tolerances: Five percent by number or weight of cobs of baby corn not satisfying the requirements of the class, but meeting those of Class I or, exceptionally, coming within the tolerances of that class. Ten percent by number or weight of cobs of baby corn not satisfying the requirements of the class, but meeting those of Class II or, exceptionally, coming within the tolerances of that class. In the case of cobs of baby corn with incompletely removed husk and stalk, only 5 per cent by number or weight of 0.5 cm long of the husk and stalk is allowed.

Provisions concerning sizing: Size is determined by the length of the cob of baby corn, in accordance with the following table:

Size Code	Length (cm)
A	5.0-7.0
B	7.0-9.0
C	9.0-12.0

 For all sizes, the minimum width should not be less than 1.0 cm and the maximum width not more than 2.0 cm.

Provisions concerning presentation & Packaging:

Uniformity: The contents of each package must be uniform and contain only cobs of baby corn of the same origin, quality and size. The visible part of the contents of the package must be representative of the entire contents.

Packaging: The cobs of baby corn must be packed in such a way as to protect the produce properly. The materials used inside the package must be new, clean and of a quality such as to avoid causing any external or internal damage to the produce. The use of materials, particularly of paper or stamps bearing trade specifications is allowed, provided the printing or labelling has been done with non-toxic ink or glue. The cobs of baby corn shall be packed in each container in compliance with the Recommended International Code of Practice for Packaging and Transport of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.

Pricing and marketing

Pricing of baby corn is important and it should be free to flow from farm to regional, central and destination markets in and outside the country. Pricing policy of baby corn will determine its success in countries promoting baby corn as new ventures. Fresh baby corn can be marketed directly at farmers’ markets and to ethnic markets. Farmers interested to grow baby corn may have a contract with restaurants (particularly those specializing in Asian or vegetarian dishes) or one step shopping malls and processing industries to secure easier selling of baby corn. Organically grown baby corn may also find potential market in Health Food Stores.

Economic Considerations

Cost and returns will be affected by the production method used, i.e., whether baby corn as primary or secondary crop. Farmers interested to grow baby corn should locate a market and determine the market value before planting in large area. Initial investments include land preparation, purchase of seeds and fertilizers. The installation of an irrigation facility is another start-up cost. Those who use a sweet corn variety may incur somewhat higher seed costs than those who select field corn for baby corn production. Field corn varieties that produce multiple ears would result in higher yields, provided the ears are of good quality.

Concluding remarks:

Corn will remain one of the important field crops in the developing countries. Considerable scope exists for promoting baby corn technology in the Asia-pacific region. The baby corn industry provides opportunities for higher income, generates employment for the rural poor and potential for export. Besides, its use as vegetable provides additional source of nutrition to the consumers. Baby corn is expected to catch the attention of more and more consumers and farmers because of its superior taste and texture. Using local produce gives fresh and nutritious food and keeps small farmers in business. Thus, help supports the local economy and conserving natural resources (raw materials for transportation and packaging are saved). In order to harness these benefits, research and development support and appropriate policies at the national level are required. Hence, the Governments should therefore, concentrate on framing policies and development of human resources. In addition, government policies should encompass motivating young farmers and finding creative ways to sustain baby corn industry by involving personnel involved in both private and public sectors. Further, for promoting baby corn industry, regional co-operation for exchange of information and germplasm, regional testing of selected hybrids and varieties, joint meetings and visits, human resource development, collaborative efforts for research and development and sensitization of policy makers for arriving at adoption of appropriate baby corn production and processing technology  would be highly desirable.

 References

1. Bar-Zur, A., and H. Saadi. 1990. Prolific maize hybrids for baby corn. J. of Hort. Sci., 65(1):97-100.
2. Chutkaew, C., and R. S. Paroda. 1994. Baby corn production in Thailand—a success story. FAO Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific, Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions, APAARI Publication: 1994/1. 20pp.
3. FAO/WHO Codex Standard 2005. Codex standard for baby corn (Codex Stan 188). http://www.codexalimentarius.net
4. Galinat, W. C. 1985. Whole ear baby corn, a new way to eat corn. Proc. Northeast Corn Improvement Conf., 40:22-27.
5. Kumar S. and Kalloo. G. 1998. Attributes of maize genotype for baby corn production. Maize genetics News Letter 74.
6. Sharma G and saikia R.B. 2000. Stability analysis for yield and yield attributing characters in baby corn (Zea mays L.) Indian J. Hill Farming 13: 30-34.
7. Miles, C., and O. Shaffner. 1999. Baby Corn Research Report. Washington State University Cooperative Extension, Lewis County. 8pp.
8. Kotch, R. S., J. H. Murphy, M. D. Orzolek, and P. A. Ferretti. 1995. Factors affecting the production of baby corn. J. of Veg. Crop Prod., Vol. 1(1):19-28.
9. Peachey, R. E., and R. D. William. 1997. Propane flaming for in-row weed control in sweet corn. PNW Sustainable Agriculture Newsletter, 9(2):5-8.