Dryland CornColor Variation of Hopi Corn Seeds
Always sort seeds when shelling. In 2023 we mixed the blue chinmark and blue/white "rejects" into a one half gallon jar. Later when we decided to grow out the chinmark, separating even some of them was very time consuming.
In winter 2024 I had a lot of seeds and color variations from the 6 fields and spent a lot of time sorting seeds. Below is a list of Hopi Corn we grew in 2024 and the color variations harvested. When shelling corn we separately sort those that produce more and/or have distinct colors. Sorting kernels after shelling is impossible or very tedious. We had some that were uninteresting and not true to type and those were put in the "reject" jar. This is more of an opinion page and musing over "Ooooh pretty colors" post. We'll add in some pictures when time permits.
There were a few ears peppered with translucent flint type kernels and generally these ears are not true to type and not kept for seeds.
Super 4 were plants which made 4 or more ears. I also had some Hopi Pink that made 6 ears and one in the Concha White patch that made 8 large ears with white slightly dented kernels.
The "Glow" varieties were hybrids and had very large kernels, like small grapes. In general if the ear is not pollinated well the kernels that are pollinated get large.
Hopi Pink
I have gotten my Hopi Pink from 2 sources. Hopi Pink is very similar to Hopi White many of which have varying degrees of pink but generally Hopi White is much whiter than Hopi Pink. Both produce a few plants that are totally white though on average Hopi White produces ears with much white kernels more frequently. Both Hopi Pink and Hopi White are short plants usually less than 5 feet and both make many tillers given enough space. The pink is not a yellow orange pink but more of a light magenta, distinctly pink but more to the blue side of the spectrum. Think of a light version of hot pink or fuschia.
Hopi Pink Variations
- Hopi Pink white
- Hopi Pink pink blush
- Hopi Pink pink
- Hopi Pink orange (pink but with an orange cast)
- Hopi Pink red (looks like a real red with a yellow tone)
- Hopi Pink dark pink
- Hopi Pink very dark and super dark red
- Hopi Pink Super 4 white glow (border dark pink white crown, cob is usually dark colored)
- Hopi Pink Super 4 yellow glow (border dark pink yellow crown, cob is usually dark colored)
- Hopi Pink Super 4 blue glow (solid grape colored, Hopi Blue cross)
Hopi White
The Hopi White I have also gotten from 2 sources. Hopi White is whiter on average than Hopi Pink and have similar color, growth habit, and kernel texture. Hopi White is known to do well with deep planting but we haven't noticed much difference compared to other varities.
Hopi White Variations
- Hopi White white (whitest, very white, mostly white)
- Hopi White dent (white slightly dented)
- Hopi White pink blush
- Hopi White pink
- Hopi White yellow (yellow kernels)
- Hopi White orange (pink with an orange cast)
- Hopi White red (looks like a real red but not as red as the Hopi Pink above)
- Hopi White dark pink
- Hopi White red and dark red
- Hopi White Super 4 white
- Hopi White Super 4 white slightly dented
- Hopi White Super 4 white glow (border dark pink white crown)
- Hopi White Super 4 blue glow (grape colored with light blue top)
- Hopi White Super 4 grape (large solid grape colored kernels)
Variations are labeled as Hopi White then the color variety such as Hopi White Pink Blush or Hopi White Super 4 Blue Glow, etc
Wikti (Hopi Greasy Head)
Kernels of Wikti look like a rose pink and are darker more earthy than Hopi Pink. If these colors are coded by the same gene then it has to be a different allele as they have a different tone, and ears can be easily separated from each other. Crosses with Hopi Pink yield kernels with both types of pink distinctly visible on the cob. These plants are short, make many tillers, early, productive, and grow well when planted deeply. In general I find the kernels of Wikti seems to be smaller than the kernels of Hopi Pink and Hopi White.
These are smaller dusky rose pink colored kernels if true to type.
Smoik Hu:n (Tohono O'odham 60-Day)
Most of my Smoik Hu:n produced ears with creamy white kernels with only a few plants having pink kernels. The kernels have a distinct cream/yellow cast and plants are short, produce very early, and tiller well. Generally these seem to also have smaller kernels. I separated out the pinkish ears and occasional blue kernels into the "not true to type" jar.
These are creamy white color if true to type.
Concha White Hybrid Field
This field was planted with Concha White plus few selected pure white from Hopi Pink and Hopi White lines. We had a few pink ears in this patch and the random blue kernel. The plants in the middle of this patch were planted too closely, did not do well, and generally did not produce. Conversely some on the outside edge produced extremely well. In general the kernels were slightly smaller and creamy white like Smoik Hu:n. It is hard to know if these were true Concha White or one of the others varieties mixed in. Some of the larger plants with larger kernels might have been Hopi White or Pink, and the Super 8 Dent was probably Hopi White since Hopi White is known to have some dent.
Concha White / Hopi White/Pink Variations
- Concha White - white
- Concha White Super 4 white
- Concha White Super 8 dent - slightly dented white
- Concha White - pink
- Concha White - dark pink
Hopi Blue
Hopi Blue seems to take a little longer to mature than other varieties and doesn't seem to make as many tillers. We have always planted Hopi Blue too late and too close so this may effect our results. Most Hopi Blue kernels are a dark blue , some almost black, and most have a white cob. Some ears have a distinct darker purple cast with colored cobs. Other ears have a sprinkling of white kernels and sometimes a rare yellow kernel. Another variation is medium/light gray kernels stripped with a rusty red color.
This is our favorite variety for eating fresh. During harvest we ate some of the purplish ears and they were still sweet. We'll try planting these first on the south slope in 2025 to see if it matures faster.
Hopi Blue Variations
- Hopi Blue (white cobs most common true to type)
- Hopi Blue with a darker purple cast with white or purple cobs
- Hopi Blue with a sprinkle of White Kernels
- Hopi Blue Chinmark grey with rust red stripes
- Hopi Blue - yellow
- Hopi Blue - Green Eye - a few yellowyellow kernel
Kikam Hu:n (Pima 60 Day Corn)
I grew these in an irrigated bed and they matured early. There was a good portion of kernels that were translucent and at harvest they were very starchy. Some of the ears did not have any translucent kernels and these were sorted as less flinty and the others as flinty.
Dryland Hopi Corn 2024
Dryland Hopi Corn Experiment 2023